Isambard Marc Brunel
Date of birth / Date established
1769
Date of death / Date closed
1849
Place of birth / Place established
Person/Corporate type
Individual
Biography
" Marc (1769–1849) was one of the great engineers of the Industrial Revolution and a pioneer of mechanical production. Born in France, Marc had studied at Rouen under Gaspard Monge, the inventor of mechanical drawing, but fled to the US during the French Revolution and became chief engineer of New York City. He left for England in 1799, partly to be reunited with an English sweetheart, Sophia Kingdom, and partly because the Royal Navy had ordered his newly invented machinery for making ships’ blocks.
Once in England, Marc married Sophia and invented many mechanical devices, including knitting machines and marine steam engines, as well as designing the Thames Tunnel, the world’s first pedestrian tunnel under a river. Past attempts had failed, but Marc developed the idea of constructing the tunnel under a tunnelling shield after observing the behaviour of a shipworm, the encased head of which bores through the hardest of woods." Source: http://designmuseum.org/design/isambard-kingdom-brunel
Once in England, Marc married Sophia and invented many mechanical devices, including knitting machines and marine steam engines, as well as designing the Thames Tunnel, the world’s first pedestrian tunnel under a river. Past attempts had failed, but Marc developed the idea of constructing the tunnel under a tunnelling shield after observing the behaviour of a shipworm, the encased head of which bores through the hardest of woods." Source: http://designmuseum.org/design/isambard-kingdom-brunel
