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Who is Isambard Kingdom Brunel - the great engineer

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About Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) was possibly the greatest engineer who ever lived.

He built bridges, ships, railways, tunnels and more. Shaping Britain and the modern world his contribution cannot be overstated. One of his ships (ironically the Great Eastern, the ship that broke him) laid the first transatlantic cable, allowing fast communications between Europe and the US for the first time.

He died of a stroke in 1859, aged 53, an engineering genius and visionary.

Contents

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Marc and Isambard Brunel
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  1. Three reasons to love Isambard Kingdom Brunel
  2. A Timeline of Brunel's achievements
  3. Brunel's Achievements
  4. Brunel's Bridges
  5. The Great Western Railway
  6. Brunel's Ships
  7. The Three Great Ships of Isambard Kingdom Brunel
  8. Great Isambard Kingdom Brunel stuff from Amazon
  9. Quick, what do you think of Isambard Kingdom Brunel?
  10. The Latest Yahoo News on Isambard Kingdom Brunel
  11. Isambard Kingdom Brunel Videos
  12. Isambard Kingdom Brunel on Flickr
  13. Vote for your favorite Isambard Kingdom Brunel stuff
  14. P.S. If you buy something from this page...
  15. Love this lens?
  16. Shout Out For Isambard Kingdom Brunel!
  17. About the lensmaster
  18. Tirial's Bio and Featured Lenses

Three reasons to love Isambard Kingdom Brunel

The Great Eastern, November 17th 1857
The Great Eastern, November 17th 1857
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1) Possibly the greatest (and most versatile engineer) ever. Ships, railways, stations, tunnels, bridges...

2) He shaped modern Britain and the modern world, and was rumoured to sleep only four hours a night.

3) He could draw a perfect circle freehanded.

A Timeline of Brunel's achievements

A selection of his engineering feats.

The problem with writing about Brunel is the sheer amount of material he produced. During his life he accomplished many engineering firsts and contributed solutions to problems previously considered unsolvable. It is hard to overstate the effect he had on shaping the modern world.

A selection of Brunel's achievements in Chronological order. Please note this is incomplete, as a full list would be extremely long.

1806; Born
1826-28; Chief assistant engineer on the Thames Tunnel
1833; Chief Engineer for the Great Western Railway
1836; Married Mary Elizabeth Horsely
1837; The SS Great Western sailed
1838; Maidenhead Railway bridge
1843; The Great Britain sailed
1845; Hungerford footbridge
1847-1848; Atmospheric railway project
1849; Windsor Railway Brdge
1854; Paddington Station
1854-59; Royal Albert Bridge
1855; designed prefabricated war hospitals to Florence Nightgale's request
1859; The SS Great Eastern sailed
1859; Death from stroke aged 53
1862-1864; The Clifton Suspension bridge. Brunel's design was implemented posthumously.

Brunel's notable achievements were many:
- The first tunnel underwater
- The first underwater railway
- Ships: The Great Britain and the Great Eastern among them
- Buildings
- Bridges
- Railways
Here are details of a few below.

Brunel's Achievements

Isambard Kingdom Brunel's engineering achievements

The lenses that focus on the Brunel family's achievements, both Marc Isambard and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
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Brunel's Bridges

The Bridges

Clifton Bridge Photo
Clifton Bridge Photo
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Bridge over a River, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, England
Bridge over a River,
Clifton Suspension Bridge,
Bristol, England
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The Clifton Suspension Bridge, built to his design as a posthumous monmument, had the largest span of any bridge in the world at the time it was built. He had built many others which are still in use today.
Dedicated Lens: The Clifton Suspension Bridge


Another of his bridges was his Cornwall Rail link, the viaduct officially called the Royal Albert Bridge, but usually refered to as the Tamar Bridge or Saltash Bridge. Distinguished by the two graceful curved tubes which hold the supporting chains, it is Instantly recogniseable.
Dedicated Lens: The Royal Albert Bridge

The Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway

Rain Steam and Speed, the Great Western Railway, Painted Before 1844
Rain Steam and Speed,
the Great Western Railway,
Painted Before 1844

Built on a broad (7 ft) gauge to enable faster speed, Brunel's railway was eventually converted to dual gauge and after his death to Stephenson's narrow gauge.
Dedicated Lens: The Great Western Railway

There are also three more lenses linked off that tell the GWR story through the various engine types designed for the railway.

Brunel's Ships

The SS Great Western


Brunel's first ship was an iron-reinforced wooden paddle steamer, capable of Blue Riband voyages even in its twilight years.
Dedicated Lens: SS Great Western

The SS Great Britain

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The SS Great Britain
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The first ocean going ship to be made entirely of iron. Built in 1843, it performed on both the Atlantic routes and the Britain to Australian journey. One its maiden voyage it smashed the speed record for the route. Salvaged as a derelict in 1971 it was brought home to Bristol and restored. It can now been seen and visited in dry dock, by anyone who wants to see Brunel's only surviving ship.

The Great Britain now has its own lens.
The SS Great Britain lens.

The SS Great Eastern

The Great Eastern, 1857
The Great Eastern, 1857 by Robert Howlett
Giclee Print at AllPosters.com

The Great Eastern was Brunel's final project, and the one the broke him. The Great Ship was to be larger than any afloat, capable of taking passengers to Australia in one leg without stopping. Equipped with both paddle wheels and propellers she was incredibly manoverable, and designed with watertight bulkheads for safety.

Her construction was dogged by accidents, deaths and problems. She got stuck on the slipway and once afloat, it turned out there was simply no demand for her. A series of owners tried ways to make her profitable, but all finally gave up. She was used for laying the first undersea cable - the only ship large enough and manouverable enough and then ended in the breakers yard in 1889.

The Great Eastern now has its own lens.
The SS Great Eastern lens.

Brunel did not live to see the tragic end of his ship. He collapsed from stress while building it. Suffering a stroke in 1859, he died ten days later while the Great Ship was on her maiden voyage. He was 53.

The Three Great Ships of Isambard Kingdom Brunel

The Great Western, Great Britain and Great Eastern

Each of Brunel's three ships represented a massive step forward in ship design, culminating in the Great Eastern whose equal would not be built until the twentieth century. Each was also the largest ship of its time when it initially launched.
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Great Isambard Kingdom Brunel stuff from Amazon

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Quick, what do you think of Isambard Kingdom Brunel?

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The Latest Yahoo News on Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Videos

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Isambard Kingdom Brunel on Flickr

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Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern, c.1857 Giclee Poster Print by Robert Howlett, 18x24

Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern, c.1857 Giclee Poster Print by Robert Howlett, 18x24

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Brunel: The Life And Times of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by R. Angus Buchanan

Brunel: The Life And Times of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by R. Angus Buchanan

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Isambard Kingdom Brunel Beside the "Great Eastern," circa 1857 Giclee Poster Print by Robert Howlett, 56x42

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Beside the &quot;Great Eastern,&quot; circa 1857 Giclee Poster Print by Robert Howlett, 56x42

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Shout Out For Isambard Kingdom Brunel!

Share your stories, sightings, thoughts, rants, raves...

  • jfmamjjasond Jun 17, 2009 @ 1:46 pm | delete
    i think he is the best and my personal fav engineer
  • jim bob Jun 17, 2009 @ 1:41 pm | delete
    bludy hero
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About the lensmaster

More about Tirial

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Tirial's Bio and Featured Lenses

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My Bio

Aviation, IT, History, Gaming, I'm interested in just about anything! I made the Squidoo Top 100 Club in June 2009. My first novel, "Fire Season", is now out, and I have a new title, "The Docks", out in Nov 2011.

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