Charles Liddell was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 railway engineer.

Born in Easington, County Durham

Easington, County Durham

Easington is a town in eastern County Durham, England. It comprises the ancient village of Easington Village and the ex-mining town of Easington Colliery, which are separate civil parishes. It is located at the junction of the A182 leading north-west to Hetton-le-Hole. Seaham Harbour and...

, he was the son of the Rector. A student and educated by George Stephenson

George Stephenson

George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...

, he resultantly became involved in a number of Styephenson's projects, including the Grand Junction Railway

Grand Junction Railway

The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...

 and London and Birmingham Railway

London and Birmingham Railway

The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....

.

He subsequently went into partnership with L.D.B. Gordon

Lewis Gordon (civil engineer)

Lewis Dunbar Brodie Gordon was a Scottish civil engineer.A student and assistant to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, during the construction of the Thames Tunnel, he made a career change to mining...

, becoming Chief Engineer of the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway, where he drew the specifications for both the wrought iron Crumlin Viaduct

Crumlin Viaduct

Crumlin Viaduct was a railway viaduct located above the village of Crumlin in South Wales. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway across the Ebbw River....

 and the stone Hengoed Viaduct

Hengoed Viaduct

Hengoed Viaduct is a Grade II* listed railway viaduct, located above the village of Maesycwmmer, in Caerphilly county borough, South Wales. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway across the Rhymney River, it is now part of National Cycle...

. After surveying the route for the Bedford and Cambridge Railway, he was Chief Engineer for the London extensions for both the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

, and Great Central Main Line

Great Central Main Line

The Great Central Main Line , also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , is a former railway line which opened in 1899 linking Sheffield with Marylebone Station in London via Nottingham and Leicester.The GCML was the last main line railway built in...

.

In 1838, whilst studying at the Freiburg School of Mines, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, L.D.B. Gordon visited the mines at Clausthal, and met Wilhelm Albert

Wilhelm Albert

Wilhelm August Julius Albert was a German mining administrator, best remembered as the first person to record observations of metal fatigue....

. Impressed by what he saw, he wrote to his friend Robert Stirling Newall

Robert Stirling Newall

Robert Stirling Newall FRS was a Scottish engineer and astronomer.Born in Dundee, he was befriended by civil engineer L.D.B. Gordon. In 1838, whilst studying at the Freiburg School of Mines, Germany, Gordon visited the mines at Clausthal, and met Wilhelm Albert...

, urging him to "Invent a machine for making wire rope

Wire rope

thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....

s." On receipt of Gordon's letter, Newall designed a wire rope machine. On Gordon's return to the UK in 1839, he formed a partnership with Newall and Liddell, registering R.S. Newall and Company in Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

. On 17 August 1840, Newall took out a patent for "certain improvements in wire rope and the machinery for making such rope," and R.S. Newall and Company commenced making wire ropes for "Mining, Railway, Ships' Rigging, and other purposes".

Liddell died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

on 10 August 1894.