Charles Frederick Beyer 1813 - 1876

Born Carl Friedrich Beyer in Plauen, Saxony, Germany on 14th May 1813. He was apprenticed as a weaver and then, aged about 12, received private tuition in drawing, mathematics and geometry from a local architect. Thanks to the generosity of local doctor Herr von Seckendorff, he attended Dresden Polytechnic to study as an architect and engineer. Following a funded trip to Britain to report on the British factory system and cotton spinning machinery in 1834, Beyer relocated to Manchester and was offered a position as a draughtsman at Sharp, Roberts & Co by Richard Roberts. Beyer initially designed cotton-spinning machinery, later moving to the locomotive department. As a German, he faced discrimination, being paid less than his English colleagues. However, within ten years, he became chief designer.

Unable to join the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) until he became a naturalised British citizen in 1852, Beyer co-founded the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and served as vice-president.

In 1854, he co-founded locomotive engineers Beyer Peacock & Co in Gorton, Manchester with Richard Peacock. He served as Chief Engineer, overseeing the Drawing Office and Works. It was through Beyer Peacock & Co's work building locomotives for a global market that he met Gustav Theodor Stieler, who he described as his "soul mate". Stieler was a Swedish engineer working under Nils Ericsson on Sweden's first railway and came to Manchester to acquire suitable locomotives and carriages, placing an order with Beyer Peacock & Co and meeting Charles Beyer. The letters between them survive at the Swedish Railway Museum and, despite the guarded language of the time, illustrate their intimacy.

Charles Beyer died at home at Llantysilio Hall, Denbighshire, Wales on 2nd June 1876.