3881 x 4689 px | 32,9 x 39,7 cm | 12,9 x 15,6 inches | 300dpi
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William Huskisson (11 March 1770 – 15 September 1830), was a British statesman, financier, and Member of Parliament for several constituencies, including Liverpool. He is best known today, however, as the world's first widely-reported railway casualty. He was run over by George Stephenson's locomotive engine Rocket. Huskisson is the first person in history whose death from a railway accident has been widely noted. (Earlier deaths due to being struck by a steam locomotive occurred in 1821 and 1827, and fatal boiler explosions in 1815 and 1828.) While attending the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, Huskisson rode down the line in the same train as the Duke of Wellington. At Parkside, close to Newton-le-Willows in Lancashire, the train stopped to observe a cavalcade on the adjacent line. Several members of the Duke's party stepped onto the trackside to observe more closely. Huskisson went forward to greet the Duke. As Huskisson was exiting his car, the locomotive Rocket approached on the parallel track. As the train drew close he held on to the open carriage door. Unfortunately the door was wider than the gap between the two trains. Rocket struck the door, pulling Huskisson off balance and under its wheels. His leg was horribly mangled. After the accident, the wounded Huskisson was taken by a train (driven by George Stephenson himself) to Eccles, where he died a few hours later. The monument where his remains are buried is the centrepiece of St James Cemetery, Liverpool.
