Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous

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: 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." 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. 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. WALES: Railway Bridge, Chepstow. 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.