Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an English civil and maritime engineer who is considered by his biographers "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution", "perhaps the most eminent Victorian engineer", and one whose work "altered the lives of almost every person in Britain, and millions abroad". The first engineer of the Great Western Railway (GWR), he was responsible for the design and construction of its London-Bristol main line. His maritime career the construction of the largest steamships in the world at the time, the SS Great Western, SS Great Britain, and SS Great Eastern. His career was marred by continual financial and engineering setbacks. His first major project, the Thames Tunnel, was cancelled after a collapse nearly killed him, and was only completed later without his involvement. While recovering, he began his work on the Clifton Suspension Bridge; after riots in Bristol around government policy, work on the bridge was cancelled and it was only completed after his death.