Name George Wilson | ||
George Wilson, known as the Blackheath Pedestrian, (24 June 1766 – after 1822) was a Newcastle born character, and competitive walker/athlete, and a tax collector by trade,
In the song "On Russell The Pedestrian" which appeared in 1840 in The Tyne Songster, George Wilson is mentioned by name as a well-known competitive walker. The notes to the song mention that he had walked 90 miles in 24 successive hours on the Newcastle Racecourse in 1822 on Easter Monday and Tuesday. The song itself is not written in a Geordie dialect, but has a strong Northern England connection.
George Wilson wrote his autobiography entitled “A Sketch of the Life of George Wilson, the Blackheath Pedestrian: Who Undertook to Walk One Thousand Miles in Twenty Days!” which was illustrated by Thomas Charles Wageman in 1815. In this book he tells of his many exploits and failures, including him being arrested for causing a breach of the peace, charged and tried for "walking for money" and ending up in debtor’s prison.
Wilson got his nickname from a very famous walk he did in Blackheath, London, in 1815, and for which The Times issued daily bulletins on his progress.