George Hudson inherited £30,000 from a great-uncle in "suspicious circumstances," became the Railway King, and died with less than £200

George Hudson, a farmer's fifth son from Howsham, was a draper in York. In 1827 he received £30,000 from his great-uncle Matthew Bottrill. York Museums Trust says the legacy came under "suspicious circumstances." He used it to enter York's establishment. He was Lord Mayor in 1837-38 and again in 1838-39. He became chairman of the York and North Midland Railway and persuaded George Stephenson to route the London line through York. By 1844 he controlled more than 1,000 miles of railway and was called the Railway King. He became MP for Sunderland. In January 1846 he bought No. 1 Albert Gate in London for £13,667 with money his admirers had subscribed as a tribute, and his wife spent £14,000 more on furnishings. From 1848 his companies' inquiries found he had paid dividends out of capital. He had to repay large sums, was expelled from York council in 1849, and Madame Tussauds melted his wax figure. In 1853 he sublet Albert Gate to the French ambassador; it has been the French Embassy since. He lived in France to avoid his creditors. Arrested in 1865 before a Whitby election, he spent three months in York prison. Friends raised a £600 yearly income for him. He died in London in December 1871, leaving effects worth less than £200, and was buried at Scrayingham. York renamed George Hudson Street as Railway Street.