Once railway engineer Thomas Brassey made a promise he kept it — even if he wasn’t aware that he’d made one.

Jack Curran’s career as a defender of victims of political prejudice got off to a stuttering start.

Statesmen promise to make the country a better place, but they never mention the one thing that would do some good.

Samuel Smiles warned that taking care of the pennies should not come before taking care of living.

As a young man, surveyor Thomas Telford was a red-hot political activist who yearned for revolution, but admittedly he had read just one book on the matter.

Thomas Telford told the parish council of St Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury that their leaky roof was the last thing they should worry about.