Edward Pease (railway pioneer)
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Edward Pease (31 May 1767 - 31 July 1858) was an English railway owner.
Pease was born in Darlington, a member of the locally prominent Pease family, and was educated locally and at a Quaker boarding school in Leeds. He was active in his family's wool business, but turned his attention to something new at the age of 50. He wanted to see a railway line that would link the collieries in County Durham with the port at Stockton-on-Tees and persuaded businessmen to back the plan. His plan was approved by Parliament in 1821.
Pease planned a horse-drawn railway until George Stephenson persuaded him to use his steam locomotive instead. The Stockton and Darlington Railway was opened on September 27, 1825 though due to the death of his son, Isaac, the day before Edward Pease did not attend the ceremony.
In 1829 Pease retired from the railway and his second son Joseph took over. He supported the Anti-Slavery movement and also supported Elizabeth Fry in her prison reform campaign.
He married Rachel Whitwell. Their children included John Pease (1797-1868), Joseph Pease (1799-1872), Isaac Pease (1805-1825) and Henry Pease (1807-1881).
