On the 15th of September 1830 the first passenger died as a result of a railway train incident.

William Huskisson by Richard Rothwell

He was William Huskisson, 60, MP for Liverpool and a former member of the Cabinet.

At the grand opening of the Manchester – Liverpool railway his leg was horrifically mangled when he was struck by the locomotive ‘Rocket’. His injuries were fatal.

You can read more about the incident here: First Railway Accident

The Cloud of Fate By Bacchylides

Peaceful wealth, or painful toil,
Chance of war, or civil broil,
‘Tis not for man’s feeble race
These to shun, or those embrace.
But that all-disposing Fate
Which presides o’er mortal state,
Where it listeth, casts its shroud
Of impenetrable cloud.

Link: Black Cat Poems