Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born to Marc and Sophia Brunel on 9 April 1806 in Portsmouth. He was educated at the College de Henri Quatre in Paris, famous for the quality of its mathematical teaching. At the age of fourteen he surveyed and drew an accurate plan of Hove, near Brighton, where he was living at the time. In 1823, aged 17, he commenced working for his father and took part in his operations at the Thames Tunnel. He was soon appointed Resident Engineer for the Tunnel, and dealt with the disasters which plagued its construction. In 1829, he designed a bridge to cross the Avon at Clifton, though his plan was rejected by Thomas Telford, who did not favour the length of span Brunel required. Brunel's second design was deemed the most mathematically exact, better than Telford's, much to the embarrassment of the committee. The bridge was begun but abandoned due to cost until after Brunel's death, when it was completed as a memorial to him in 1864. In 1830 Brunel was appointed chief engineer at Bristol Docks, which he improved as well as he was able within the budget granted to him. In 1831 he designed the Monkwearmouth Docks, and this was later to stand him in good stead when he worked on the docks at Plymouth, Briton Ferry, Milford Haven, and Brentford. In 1833, Brunel was appointed Engineer for the Great Western Railway Company, where he carried into effect his plans for a broad gauge railway system. Despite the controversy of his decision, his work brought him great renown, and he was asked to design railways in Italy and to advise upon the construction of the Victorian Lines in Australia and the Eastern Bengal Railway. He worked on the system of atmospheric propulsion and attempted to use it on the South Devon railway in 1844, though it did not work in practice.
In 1836, Brunel began construction of the Great Western, a steamship of 2,300 tons - one far larger than any in existence at that time. Her first voyage, in 1838, was considered a great success, and she was then employed in regular service between Britain and America, completing the journey in fifteen days. He then considered the merits of screw propulsion, making a series of observations on the Ship "Archimedes" and projecting its application on larger steam vessels. In 1841, he was commissioned by the Admiralty to study this further, and his work in this field led to the adoption of the screw propeller by the Royal Navy in 1845. He used the screw propeller in the construction of the Great Britain, a large iron ship first designed for paddle wheel propulsion. The Great Britain made her first voyage in 1845 from Liverpool to New York. She was stranded on Dundrum Bay, Ireland, for the winter of 1846, and demonstrated the excellence of her hull by sustaining no damage for the whole period of her grounding. In 1851 Brunel was appointed Consulting Engineer to the Australian Steam Navigation Company and recommended that they construct vessels of 5,000 tons burden, vessels capable of crossing to Australia with only one stop for coal. The Company did not take Brunel's advice at that time, considering expense in the short term as their priority - a problem which frequently dogged Brunel's grand designs. In 1852, the Eastern Steam Navigation Company commissioned Brunel to design a vessel for them. This vessel would be the Great Eastern, the largest steamship built by far, and would remain so until the construction of the Lusitania in 1907. Construction began in 1853, and after a troublesome three-month launching, the Great Eastern entered the water in January 1858. Financially, the Great Eastern was deemed a failure, and she was given work laying the transatlantic telegraph cable. While working on the Great Eastern Brunel busied himself with a number of other designs, including a floating gun carriage and prefabricated military hospital, both designed for use in the Crimean War. In 1858 he journeyed to Egypt to rest and recover; the Great Eastern and his work on various architectural projects including the Saltash or Royal Albert Bridge having taken a great toll on his health. He was present at the testing of the engines of the Great Eastern on 5 September, 1859, though he collapsed on the deck of the ship and died on 15 September, 1859. He was buried at Kensal Green, and a statue was erected in his memory. His family dedicated a window in Westminster Abbey to him, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge was completed to his designs as modified by Sir John Hawkshaw, as a lasting tribute to his ability as an engineer.
Brunel was an influential and enthusiastic member of the scientific and engineering communities, and was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers from 1829 onwards, holding the office of Vice-President from 1845 until his death in 1859. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1830, as well as being a prominent member of most British and European scientific societies. He had three children: Henry Marc Brunel (1842-1903), Isambard Brunel Junior (1837-1902), and Florence Mary Brunel (c.1847-1876). Florence Mary married into the James family, and was the only one of Brunel's children to produce offspring.
From the guide to the Brunel Collection: Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) papers, 1824-1953, (University of Bristol Information Services - Special Collections)
