George Rennie (engineer)

Born in the parish of Christchurch, Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London, he was educated by Dr. Greenlaw at Isleworth, and was subsequently sent to St. Paul's School and to the University of Edinburgh.

In 1818, on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks and James Watt, he was appointed inspector of machinery and clerk of the irons (i.e. dies) at the Royal Mint, which post he held for nearly eight years.

In 1825 the brothers were hired by the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway as George Stephenson's original plan had been thrown out of Parliament due to inconsistent figures and measurements This was however, a technicality, as the reason for the Bill's failure was the political pressure applied by Lord Derby and Lord Sefton, since the original route encroached on, or near, their estates on the outskirts of Liverpool.

As soon as the Bill received Royal Assent on 5 May 1826, the Directors wished to appoint the Rennie brothers as principal engineers for the building of the railway, but no agreement could be made over the amount of time the brothers would commit to attending site, and also which other engineers they were prepared to work with on the project, so the Directors offered the job back to George Stephenson.

He died on 30 March 1866, at his house, 39 Wilton Crescent, from the effects of an accident in the street in the previous year, and was buried on 6 April at Holmwood, near Dorking.