Richard Peacock

Richard Peacock (April 9, 1820 - March 3, 1889) was an English engineer, one of the founders of locomotive manufacturer Beyer-Peacock.

Born in Swaledale, he was educated at Leeds Grammar School but at 14 left to be apprenticed at Fenton, Murray and Jackson in Leeds. At 18 he was a precocious locomotive superintendent on the Leeds and Selby Railway. When the line was acquired by the York and North Midland Railway in 1840 he worked under Daniel Gooch at Swindon, but reputedly fled to escape Gooch's wrath. In 1841, he became the locomotive superintendent of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, subsequently the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.

In 1853, he joined Charles Beyer to found the celebrated locomotive company Beyer-Peacock. He had met Beyer through the acquisition of locomotives from Sharp Brothers, and through both being among the founders of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1847.

From the 1885 general election until his death in 1889, Peacock was MP for Manchester Gorton.

1889 He died in Manchester. Obituray in The Engineer

Sources of Information

• The Engineer of 8th March 1889 p207