caption death_date death_place module birth_place title birth_date known_for term spouse image article_title name occupation
charles pearson , circa 1855 14 september 1862 wandsworth london transport city of london , united kingdom city solicitor 4 october 1793 transport campaigner 1839 & ndash ; 1862 mary dutton -lrb- 1817-1862 -rrb- charles pearson.png charles pearson
 charles pearson solicitor member of parliament
charles pearson

charles pearson -lrb- 4 october 1793 -- 14 september 1862 -rrb- was solicitor to the city of london , a reforming campaigner , and -- briefly -- member of parliament for lambeth .
he campaigned against corruption in jury selection , for penal reform , for the abolition of capital punishment , and for universal suffrage .
pearson used his influence as city solicitor to promote improvements to transport communications .
initially , he proposed a central railway station for the city , accessed by tunnel , that would be used by multiple railway companies enabling workers to commute to the city from further away .
when this plan was rejected , pearson promoted an underground railway connecting the capital 's northern termini .
the resulting metropolitan railway was the first underground railway in the world and led to the development of the extensive london underground network and the rapid expansion of the capital .
