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'''Isambard Kingdom Brunel''' (1806–1859), was a leading British civil engineer, famed for his bridges and dockyards, and especially for the construction of the first major British Railway, the Great Western, and for inventing the modern iron ship.  

'''Isambard Kingdom Brunel''' (1806–1859), was a leading British civil engineer, famed for his bridges and dockyards, and especially for the construction of the first major British Railway, the Great Western, and for inventing the modern iron ship.  

 

He was the only son of Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849),  a royalist who fled the French Revolution and built a career as a mechanical engineer in London.<ref> Father and son were both called Isambard, an old family name.</ref> The father is best known for the Thames Tunnel, the first major underwater tunnel.<ref> See Thames Tunnel Company, ''An explanation of the works of the tunnel under the Thames from Rotherhithe to Wapping'' (1840) online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=KH8HAAAAQAAJ&dq=intitle:tunnel&num=30&as_brr=1] </ref>  The son at age 14 was sent to France for schooling, but failed the admission test for the Ecole Polytechnique, studied watchmaking in Paris; he returned to London to apprentice with his father. He was badly injured in an 1828 accident on the Thames Tunnel project.  Recuperating in Bristol, he was the prize winner of a local contest, proposing a spectacular suspension bridge over the River Avon.  Funds ran out, but the bridge was eventually completed as a memorial after his death.  Isambard Brunel was a volcano of brilliant ideas at the cutting edge of civil engineering, but based on rigorous mathematical designs and models. Bristol businessmen financed his plans to upgrade  the city’s docks.  Their confidence in him led to his appointment in 1833 (at age 26) as engineer to the Great Western Railway (GWR), covering the 118 miles between Bristol and London.  The first major railway in the world, and the largest engineering project Britain had as yet attempted, GWR consumed Brunel’s  phenomenal energy for 15 years. The result was a high speed network in south-west England that became a model copied all over Europe and the world.  It cut the travel time from 4 days to 4 1/2 hours. In 1849 Brunel introduced the express train, which  made the 194 mile run from London to Exeter (with three stops) at the astonishing speed of 43 mph.

He was the only son of Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849),  a royalist who fled the French Revolution and built a career as a mechanical engineer in London.<ref> Father and son were both called Isambard, an old family name.</ref> The father is best known for the Thames Tunnel, the first major underwater tunnel.<ref> See Thames Tunnel Company, ''An explanation of the works of the tunnel under the Thames from Rotherhithe to Wapping'' (1840) online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=KH8HAAAAQAAJ&dq=intitle:tunnel&num=30&as_brr=1] </ref>  The son at age 14 was sent to France for schooling, but failed the admission test for the Ecole Polytechnique, studied watchmaking in Paris; he returned to London to apprentice with his father. He was badly injured in an 1828 accident on the Thames Tunnel project.  Recuperating in Bristol, he was the prize winner of a local contest, proposing a spectacular suspension bridge over the River Avon.  Funds ran out, but the bridge was eventually completed as a memorial after his death.  Isambard Brunel was a volcano of brilliant ideas at the cutting edge of civil engineering, but based on rigorous mathematical designs and models. Bristol businessmen financed his plans to upgrade  the city’s docks.  Their confidence in him led to his appointment in 1833 (at age 26) as engineer to the Great Western Railway (GWR), covering the 118 miles between Bristol and London.  The first major railway in the world, and the largest engineering project Britain had as yet attempted, GWR consumed Brunel’s  phenomenal energy for 15 years. The result was a high speed network in south-west England that became a model copied all over Europe and the world.  It cut the travel time from 4 days to 4 1/2 hours. In 1849 Brunel introduced the express train, which  made the 194 mile run from London to Exeter (with three stops) at the astonishing speed of 43 mph.

Brunel was had quick mind, an unusually rich imagination, and a charismatic driving forceful personality that brooked no opposition.  He was active in many public affairs.  The “Napoleon of engineers,” he thought more of glory than profit.<ref> Obituary in ‘’The Scientific American” Oct 18, 1862 p 251 at [ http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABF2204-1007-18]</ref> He died young, leaving an estate of  under £90,000, having lost much of his fortune in the “Great Eastern” venture.  

Brunel was had quick mind, an unusually rich imagination, and a charismatic driving forceful personality that brooked no opposition.  He was active in many public affairs.  The “Napoleon of engineers,” he thought more of glory than profit.<ref> Obituary in ‘’The Scientific American” Oct 18, 1862 p 251 at [ http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABF2204-1007-18]</ref> He died young, leaving an estate of  under £90,000, having lost much of his fortune in the “Great Eastern” venture.  

==Bibliography==

==Bibliography==

* Beckett, Derrick. ''Brunel's Britain''(1980), 256 pp, well-illustrated guidebook and analysis of key projects  

* Beckett, Derrick. ''Brunel's Britain''(1980), 256 pp, well-illustrated guidebook and analysis of key projects  

* Pugsley, Sir Alfred.  ''The Works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel,'' edited by (1976) 215pp, engineering details*Rolt,  L.T.C. ''Isambard Kingdom Brunel'' (1958) , the standard biography, 345pp

* Pugsley, Sir Alfred.  ''The Works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel,'' edited by (1976) 215pp, engineering details*Rolt,  L.T.C. ''Isambard Kingdom Brunel'' (1958) , the standard biography, 345pp

* Vaughan, Adrian.  ''Isambard Kingdom Brunel: Engineering Knight-Errant'' (2003)

* Vaughan, Adrian.  ''Isambard Kingdom Brunel: Engineering Knight-Errant'' (2003)