Richard Trevithick (April 13, 1771 – April 22, 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall, England.

The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick had been immersed in mining and engineering from an early age.

He performspoorly in school, but goes on to be an early pioneer of steam-powered road and rail transport.

His most significant contribution is the development of the first high-pressure steam engine.

He also builds the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive.

The world's first locomotive-hauled railway journey takes place on February 21., 1804, when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauls a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.

Turning his interests abroad, Trevithick also works as a mining consultant in Peru and later explores parts of Costa Rica.

Throughout his professional career, he goes through many ups and downs, and at one point faces financial ruin, also suffering from the strong rivalry of many mining and steam engineers of the day.

During the prime of his career, he as a well-respected and known figure in mining and engineering, but near the end of his life he falls out of the public eye.