George Hudson: The Railway King
eBook - ePub

George Hudson: The Railway King

A New Biography

  1. 280 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

George Hudson: The Railway King

A New Biography

About this book

George Hudson was the greatest British railway entrepreneur of the 19th century. In 1848, he controlled over 1, 000 miles of railway and, when it came to railway promotion, it seemed he could do no wrong. However, in early 1849 it came to light that some of his business methods had been less than ethical and he was forced to relinquish the chairmanship of each of his companies. His fall from grace was spectacular and his detractors, of whom there were many, were quick to denounce him as a fraudster, a charlatan and a crook. Even today, when the name George Hudson is mentioned, these same insults are often levelled at him. This new biography takes a fresh look at Hudson's extraordinary life, from his humble beginnings as a farmer's boy, to becoming Lord Mayor of York before catching the railway bug. He was MP for Sunderland between 1845 and 1859. After his fall from grace, Hudson endured a 20-year court battle with the York and North Midland Railway (subsequently the North Eastern Railway) for outstanding debts. Hudson made many mistakes in creating his railway empire, but did he deserve all the vitriol that still accompanies his reputation? In seeking to answer this question, Matthew Wells looks at the evidence, including what was said about Hudson during his lifetime and what Hudson himself had to say about the actions he took.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access George Hudson: The Railway King by Matthew Wells in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Historical Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Introduction
  6. Chapter 1 Who was George Hudson?
  7. Chapter 2 1835 General Election
  8. Chapter 3 Hudson Catches the Railway Bug
  9. Chapter 4 Lord Mayor of York
  10. Chapter 5 Railway Mania
  11. Chapter 6 Hudson’s Testimonial
  12. Chapter 7 MP for Sunderland
  13. Chapter 8 Reaching the Summit
  14. Chapter 9 The Kingdom Unravels
  15. Chapter 10 Hudson’s Explanation
  16. Chapter 11 Hudson’s Last Hurrah
  17. Chapter 12 James Richardson v Thomas Wodson
  18. Chapter 13 In Chancery
  19. Chapter 14 Hudson Goes Missing
  20. Chapter 15 Exile
  21. Chapter 16 The King Returns
  22. Chapter 17 Final Days…
  23. Chapter 18 What They Said
  24. Chapter 19 Elizabeth Hudson
  25. Appendix 1
  26. Appendix 2
  27. Appendix 3
  28. Select Bibliography
  29. Plates