Trevithick was born at Illogen in Cornwall. At the age of 19, he was appointed consulting engineer at one of the mines in the district. In 1801 he built a steam road locomotive which later burst into flames. A second engine was demonstrated in London in 1803, but it failed to attract funding. In 1804, Trevithick built the first steam locomotive, running on a cast-iron track in South Wales. He built 2 more locomotives, but the cast-iron tracks couldn't bear the weight. He then went on to design other steam-powered machines including an iron-rolling mill, a barge, a dredger, a threshing machine and boiler. Trevithick went bankrupt and moved to Peru in 1816 where his engines were used in Silver Mines. He returned in 1827 and died six years later, penniless.
