Those who know even a little about the history of the London Underground will have heard of Charles Yerkes, who pioneered much of the network that still exists now at the turn of the 20th century. There is a short but interesting history of his endeavours in The Economist (http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-specials/21636509-how-vision-and-cunning-unknown-american-changed-shape?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/ed/conquistadorofmetroland) to-day, which might be of interest to some.