[The following chronology comes from an unknown source. A note suggests it dates from no later than 2007. — George P. Landow]
1806 Birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in Portsea.
1822 Returns to London after studying in Paris and joins the drawing office of his father, the eminent engineer, Marc Brunel.
1827 Appointed resident engineer of the Thames Tunnel only to be seriously injured by flood damage in January 1828.
1829 While convalescing in Bristol, enters a competition to design the Clifton Bridge across the Avon Gorge, which he wins.
1831 Completes work on an astronomical observatory for James South in London. Appointed engineer of dock at Monkwearmouth, Sunderland.
1833 Submits proposal for the Great Western Railway from Bristol to London.
1835 Proposes broader 7 feet gauge for the GWR track and begins a battle for acceptance with GWR board. Designs the Maidenhead Bridge, Wharncliffe Viaduct and Hungerford Suspension Bridge.
1836 Marries Mary Horsley and they move in to the floors above his office on Duke Street in Mayfair.
1837 Launch of SS Great Western in Bristol.
1839 Battle with the GWR board culminates in trials proving that Brunel’s broad gauge will enable locomotives to attain higher speeds.
1843 Launch of SS Great Britain in Bristol. Appointed surveyor and engineer of five regional railways including Monmouth & Hereford and Oxford & Rugby.
1845 Proposes a high bridge over the River Tamar ’’ to be completed in 1852 ’’ and is appointed engineer of the Cornish Railway.
1849 Starts work on the design of a new Paddington Station as the London terminus of the GWR.
1853 Signs the contract for the design of the “Great Ship” or SS Great Eastern.
1855 Commissioned by the War Office to design a pre-fabricated 1,000-bed hospital for use in the Crimean War.
1857 Begins work on the East Bengal Railway in India.
1858 Work nearing completion on both the Royal Albert Bridge and SS Great Eastern but Brunel becomes ill and is ordered to travel “to the Alps and then Egypt” by his doctor.
1859 Opening of the Royal Albert Bridge, while Brunel is still abroad. He collapses of a heart attack on the deck of the SS Great Eastern two days before its launch and dies ten days later.
Last modified 12 January 2020