Bradshaw

 'Watson – the Bradshaw!' 
 Born on this day in 1800 was the printer and publisher George Bradshaw, whose railway guides proved so useful to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson – and, much later, to Michael Portillo, whose enjoyable TV series Great British Railway Journeys and its successors continued to make use of Bradshaw's guides (indeed, the original series was so successful that a facsimile reprint of the 1863 Bradshaw's Handbook sold well). Until he branched out beyond Europe, the colourfully attired Portillo was always to be seen clutching a vintage Bradshaw to his well-shirted chest and consulting it from time to time. 
  Bradshaw, who was born in Lancashire and began his career in Manchester, was an intensely religious man, who studied under a Swedenborgian minister, and became a devout Quaker. For this reason, early editions of the Bradshaw guides eschew the traditional naming of days and months after Roman or Norse deities and name them simply 'First Month' (January), 'First Day' (Sunday), etc. In 1839 Bradshaw published the first collection of railway timetables in the world – this was actually before the introduction of standard Railway Time. From the early 1840s onward, Bradshaw's various guides became increasingly popular, to the point where 'Bradshaw' became a generic name for any railway timetable. Even Punch praised his achievement: 'Seldom has the gigantic intellect of man been employed upon a work of greater utility.' Sadly, Bradshaw died prematurely: while travelling in Norway, he contracted cholera and died in Kristiania (now Oslo), just eight hours after falling ill.  He was 53. A local law forbade the return of his body to England, so he lies in Gamlebyen cemetery, about a mile from Oslo cathedral. An unlikely resting place for a man whose name was woven into English everyday life.