Sir George Samuel Measom (3 December 1818 – 1 March 1901) was a British engraver and publisher who compiled guides to railway travel in Great Britain in the mid-19th century. In later life he became involved in charitable works, and was knighted in 1891.
Biography
Measom was born in
Blackheath,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, the son of Daniel Measom, a carver and gilder.
In 1842, he married Sarah Hillman. During the 1840s, he developed his skills as an
engraver and in 1849 published ''The Bible: its Elevating Influence on Man'', a moral tale in illustrated form. From the 1850s onwards much of Measom's work related to descriptions of railways; first railway work was the 1852 ''Illustrated Guide to the Great Western Railway''. His railway works described the railways from the practical standpoint of a traveller, and all publications after the first took a title of the form ''The Official Illustrated Guide to ... ''. By 1867 his book covered the entire British network.
Sarah died in 1867, after which he remarried to Charlotte Simpson.
From the 1880s, Measom became involved in charity work, he was treasurer of the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...
, and promoted a related work that later became the
Battersea Dogs' Home, and supported the
Royal Marsden
The Royal Marsden Hospital (RM) is a specialist cancer treatment hospital in London based in Kensington and Chelsea, next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, in Fulham Road with a second site in Belmont, close to Sutton Hospital, High Down and D ...
hospital.
He was knighted in 1891, for his public work. George Measom died on 1 March 1901 at home,
Isleworth,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
. He left no children.
Works
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See also
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George Bradshaw
George Bradshaw (29 July 1800 – 6 September 1853) was an English cartographer, printer and publisher. He developed Bradshaw's Guide, a widely sold series of combined railway guides and timetables.
Biography
Bradshaw was born at Windsor Br ...
, publisher of railway timetables and guides.
References
Sources
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External links
Cover image Great Western Railway, 1860
1818 births
1901 deaths
English travel writers
Knights Bachelor
19th-century English non-fiction writers
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