Charles Pearson

Charles Pearson was a British lawyer, reformer and politician who served as Solicitor to the City of London from 1839 until his death. He also sat briefly as Liberal MP for Lambeth and campaigned on issues including penal reform, suffrage and improvements to the rapidly growing capital.

Pearson became an energetic advocate of improved railway access to central London. After promoting schemes for a central terminus, he supported an underground line linking the northern railway termini with the City. The resulting Metropolitan Railway opened in January 1863, a few months after Pearson’s death, and became the foundation of the London Underground.

Andrew Martin’s Underground, Overground discusses Pearson as one of the formative figures in the creation of London’s underground railway, connecting his transport proposals to the social and physical transformation of Victorian London.