| Isambard Kingdom Brunel (British, 1806-1859). Brunel is known for his engineering feats. Brunel played a prominent role in the construction of the Great Western Railway (the first major railway in Great Britain), the Box Tunnel, the SS Great Britain, the Thames Tunnel, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge above the River Avon in Bristol. Isambard Kingdom Brunel is photographed here in 1857, against the launching chains of the SS Great Eastern in Millwall. It was this ship that repaired connections on the Transatlantic telegraph cable (first laid in 1858) in 1866, allowing a permanent communications connection between North America and Europe. |
