Richard Speight

Richard Speight (2 December 1838 — 19 September 1901) was an English-born commissioner of railways in the Australian state of Victoria, serving between 1883 and 1892. In his latter years, Speight was briefly a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

Biography

Speight was born in Selby, Yorkshire, England. He was brought up from boyhood in the service of the Midland Railway Company until he attained a responsible position on the management. Speight accepted the new post of railway commissioner of the Railways Department of Victoria, in 1883. He was tasked with implementing the Railway Construction Act 1884, along with fellow commissioners A. J. Agg and R. Ford. The Act called for the construction of fifty-nine new lines and additional works. Conservative by nature, Speight preferred to invest in quality infrastructure in order to reduce operational and maintenance costs. However, this policy was in opposition to political leaders including Thomas Bent and John Woods; and it was considered that Speight had over–extended the State.

Richard Speight, Jr.

Richard Speight, Jr. (born September 4, 1970) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer who is known for his role as Deputy Bill Koehler on the CBS TV series Jericho. He starred in the CBS series, The Agency, and the HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers. Speight played a recurring role, that of the Archangel Gabriel, originally thought to be a "Trickster" or Loki, in the WB/CW series Supernatural.

Personal life

Born September 4, 1970, Speight was raised in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Barbara and Richard Speight. He has two older sisters, Barby and Lindy. Speight attended Montgomery Bell Academy and the University of Southern California's School of Theater, graduating cum laude. While at USC, he met and befriended writer and director Stephen Chbosky. Speight appeared in Chbosky’s senior showcase piece.. Years later, the two teamed up on the CBS series Jericho which Chbosky co-created.

On June 28, 2003, Speight married Jaci Kathryn Hays, a dot-com executive in California.