Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859) was an English engineer, famous for building the Great Western Railway, connecting the west of England with London. For it, he constructed a number of viaducts, tunnels and bridges, many still in use today. Brunel went on to design three great steamships, including the Great Britain (1843), the world's first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship. Brunel's tunnels and bridges were the longest in the world at the time; his ships were the largest and speediest. His designs were engineering marvels of the Victorian Age.

Early life

Isambard's father, Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (1769–1849), was himself a famous engineer. French by birth, he settled in Britain after the French Revolution and married Englishwoman Sophia Kingdom. Isambard was born on 9th April 1806 in Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire. He was sent to school in France and was 16 when he returned to England to work with his father. Marc was building a tunnel under the River Thames from Rotherhithe to Wapping, a project eventually completed in 1843.

Brunel was appointed chief engineer for the building of a railway linking London with Bristol, and later to Wales and southwest England, in 1833. The Great Western Railway, as it was named, required a system of tunnels, cuttings, bridges and viaducts to be built. They included the viaducts at Hanwell and Chippenham, the Maidenhead Bridge and the Box Tunnel (the longest railway tunnel in the world at the time).

Brunel also designed London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads stations for the Great Western Railway, both of which buildings still stand today. He also made designs for several smaller stations along the line.

Great Britain

Brunel immediately got to work on an even bigger ship. The Great Britain was made entirely of iron and would be 98 metres (322 feet) long. To begin with, Brunel intended her to have paddlewheels like the Great Western, but he later decided to attach a propeller instead. The Great Britain was launched in 1843. She was the first propeller-driven, iron-hulled, steam-powered passenger ship to cross the Atlantic.

Great Eastern

Brunel then designed the biggest ship ever, five times larger than any other ship before. It would be large enough to carry fuel to reach Australia without refuelling and would be able to carry 4000 passengers. Construction began on the 211-metre (692-foot) Great Eastern in 1854. After several delays, she was ready for launch on her maiden voyage in September 1859.

Brunel died of a stroke within a week or so of the launch of the Great Eastern, on 15th September 1859. She never carried 4000 passengers, and although made several transatlantic crossings, was not a financial success. She soon acquired an unintended role, however. She was hired to carry 5000 tons of telegraphic cable, which was to be laid on the ocean floor from Ireland to Newfoundland. On 27th July 1866 the Great Eastern successfully completed this task, and was later used for laying cable across other seas and oceans.