Who was Isambard Kingdom Brunel?
Civil and Mechanical Engineer.
Date and Place of Birth:
9th April 1806. Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.
Family Background:
Only Son of Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, Engineer
who had escaped France during the Revolution.
Education:
Several English Private Schools and the College
of Caen in Normandy and the College Henri Quatre, Paris.
Chronology/Biography of Isambard
Kingdom Brunel:
1822: Entered his
father's office. First independent work was on the designs for the
Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, though this structure was never
completed in his lifetime.
1826: Engineer in
charge of the Thames Tunnel in Rotherhithe.
1827: (18th May)
The river broke into the tunnel and Brunel made descents in a diving
bell to decide how to proceed.
1828: (12th January)
A second flooding of the tunnel left him injured trying to save
the lives of several of the workmen. Further work was halted for
seven years due to financial difficulties.
1830: Wins second
Clifton Suspension Bridge competition. Present at the Rainhill Trials
where George Stephenson's locomotive
"Rocket" wins. This inspires him to build railways and
in a bid to gain speed he designs a broad gauge track (7 feet) in
the "battle of the gauges" with Stephenson's
standard gauge of 4 feet 8 inches. He is elected a member of the
Royal Society.
1831: Construction
work begins for crossing the Avon gorge at Clifton.
1833: Appointed
engineer of the Great Western Railway Company and laid out the route
in the controversial 7-Foot Gauge. Brunel designed Paddington Station,
London, and Bristol Temple Meads. He also engineered many tunnels
including the Box Tunnel outside Bath and a series of bridges.
1837: Launching
of the SS "Great Western" steamship which was intended
for the Atlantic crossing.
1841: His railway
line between London and Bristol was opened.
1843: Opening of
the Thames tunnel and the launching of the SS "Great Britain."
Brunel's SS Great Britain moored in the dock which was built
for it in Bristol Dockyards
(© Anthony Blagg)
1844: Introduced
a system of pneumatic propulsion on the South Devon Railway which
by his own admission was a failure.
1845: Built the
Hungerford Suspension Bridge. (The chain links were later used at
Clifton).
1848: Work started
on the bridge at Saltash, near Plymouth.
1852: Opening of
the railway bridge at Chepstow.
1854: Designed a
large floating barge to take heavy guns needed in the Crimean War.
1855: Worked on
designs to build prefabricated hospitals for the war in the Crimea.
1858: Launching
of the SS "Great Eastern" ship.
1859: Completion
of the Royal Albert Bridge crossing the River Tamar which linked
the railway lines between Devon and Cornwall.
Marriage:
1836: To Mary Horsley.
Date and Place of Death:
15th September 1859. Westminster, London, England.
Age at Death:
53.
Site of Grave:
Kensal Green Cemetery, Kensal Green, London,
England.
Places of Interest:
AVON:
SS Great Britain Ship Museum, Bristol.
Temple Meads Railway Station, Bristol.
Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol.
Bath Railway Station.
DEVON/CORNWALL:
Royal Albert Railway Bridge, Saltash, near Plymouth.
LONDON:
Paddington Station.
OXFORDSHIRE:
Didcot Railway Centre.
WALES:
Railway Bridge, Chepstow.
