"Brunel" redirects here. For other uses, see Brunel (disambiguation).
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
FRS MInstCE
Brunel by the launching chains of the SS Great Eastern, by Robert Howlett, 1857
Born
(1806-04-09)9 April 1806
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Died
15 September 1859(1859-09-15) (aged 53)
Westminster, London
Education
Lycée Henri-IV
University of Caen
Occupation
Engineer
Spouse
Mary Elizabeth Horsley
(m. 1836)
Children
3, including Henry Marc
Parents
Marc Isambard Brunel
Sophia Kingdom
Engineering career
Discipline
Civil engineer
Structural engineer
Marine engineer
Institutions
Royal Society
Institution of Civil Engineers
Projects
Great Western Railway
Clifton Suspension Bridge
SS Great Britain
Significant design
Royal Albert Bridge
Signature
Isambard Kingdom BrunelFRS MInstCE (/ˈɪzəmbɑːrdbruːˈnɛl/; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859)[1] was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer[2] who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history",[3] "one of the 19th-century engineering giants",[4] and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions".[5] Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR), a series of steamships including the first purpose-built transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.
Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering firsts, including assisting his father in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river (the River Thames) and the development of the SS Great Britain, the first propeller-driven, ocean-going iron ship, which, when launched in 1843, was the largest ship ever built.[6][7]
On the GWR, Brunel set standards for a well-built railway, using careful surveys to minimise gradients and curves. This necessitated expensive construction techniques, new bridges, new viaducts, and the two-mile-long (3.2 km) Box Tunnel. One controversial feature was the "broad gauge" of 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm), instead of what was later to be known as "standard gauge" of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm). He astonished Britain by proposing to extend the GWR westward to North America by building steam-powered, iron-hulled ships. He designed and built three ships that revolutionised naval engineering: the SS Great Western (1838), the SS Great Britain (1843), and the SS Great Eastern (1859).
In 2002, Brunel was placed second in a BBC public poll to determine the "100 Greatest Britons". In 2006, the bicentenary of his birth, a major programme of events celebrated his life and work under the name Brunel 200.[8]
^Chisholm 1911.
^"Isambard Kingdom Brunel". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
IsambardKingdomBrunel FRS MInstCE (/ˈɪzəmbɑːrd bruːˈnɛl/; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer who...
constructed the Thames Tunnel and was the father of IsambardKingdomBrunel. Born in France, Brunel fled to the United States during the French Revolution...
IsambardKingdomBrunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern is a photograph taken by Robert Howlett in November 1857. It shows Brunel...
England IsambardKingdomBrunel (1806–1859), English mechanical and civil engineer IsambardBrunel Junior (1837–1902), son of IsambardKingdomBrunel Isambard...
Henry Marc Brunel (27 June 1842 – 7 October 1903) was an English civil engineer and the son of engineer IsambardKingdomBrunel and grandson of civil engineer...
1966 and named after IsambardKingdomBrunel, the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. In June 1966, Brunel College of Advanced...
Sophia Kingdom (15 February 1775 – 5 January 1855), later known as Lady Brunel, was the mother of IsambardKingdomBrunel. Her father was William Kingdom, a...
comprises the Engine House and the Tunnel Shaft, with rooftop garden. IsambardKingdomBrunel worked with his father on the project from 1823 and was appointed...
Marc IsambardBrunel (1769–1849), French-born engineer IsambardKingdomBrunel (1806–1859), British engineer, son of Marc IsambardBrunel Sir Isambard Owen...
in honour of IsambardKingdomBrunel, founder of the Great Western Railway, and designer of the giant ship SS Great Eastern. The Brunel Awards were first...
gardens were designed by William Burn to be the retirement home of IsambardKingdomBrunel. He discovered the area while surveying for the Great Western Railway...
Brunel Bridge could be an informal or local reference to any one of several famous bridges in England built by IsambardKingdomBrunel, including: The...
English railway engineer. He worked under IsambardKingdomBrunel for more than twenty years and, following Brunel's death, completed many of his projects...
1841 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) under the direction of IsambardKingdomBrunel, the straight tunnel descends on a 1 in 100 gradient from its eastern...
between 1825 and 1843 by Marc Brunel, and his son, Isambard, using the tunnelling shield newly invented by the elder Brunel and Thomas Cochrane. The tunnel...
Beatles not on the list. IsambardKingdomBrunel occupied the top spot in the polls for some time thanks largely to "students from Brunel University who have...
Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed by the engineer IsambardKingdomBrunel opened in 1847. It is also the site of St Mary's Hospital and the...
birthplace of notable people such as author Charles Dickens, engineer IsambardKingdomBrunel, former Prime Minister James Callaghan, actor Peter Sellers and...
also known as "Kingdom", a professional Korean StarCraft player IsambardKingdomBrunel (1806–1859), English engineer Johnny Kingdom (1939–2018), English...
SS British Queen went into service. Designed by British civil engineer IsambardKingdomBrunel, Great Western proved satisfactory in service and was the model...
completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by IsambardKingdomBrunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft (2,134 mm)—later slightly widened...
Chepstow Railway Bridge was built to the instructions of IsambardKingdomBrunel in 1852. The "Great Tubular Bridge" over the River Wye at Chepstow, which...
Avon in Brislington, Bristol, England. It was built in 1839 by IsambardKingdomBrunel and has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed...
complex in London, England. The hotel was originally the idea of IsambardKingdomBrunel, who was the hotel's first managing director. The funding came...
Railway Company's engineer, the noted mechanical and civil engineer IsambardKingdomBrunel, and it was completed in 1838, but not brought into use until 1...
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