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The Greatest of Victorian Engineers 

In the hundred years up to 1860, the workof a small group of construction engineers carried forward the enormous socialand economic change that we associate with the Industrial Revolution inBritain. The most important of these engineers was Isambard Kingdom Brunel,whose work in shipping, bridge-building, and railway construction, to name justthree fields, both challenged and motivated his colleagues. He was the driving forcebehind a number of the hugely ambitious projects, some of which resulted inworks which are still in use today. 
The son of an engineer, Brunel apprenticedwith his father at an early age on the building of the Thames Tunnel. At theage of just twenty, he became engineer in charge of the project. Thisimpressive plan to bore under the Thames twice suffered two major disasterswhen the river broke through into the tunnel when the second breach(决口) occurredin 1872, Brunel was seriously injured during rescue operation and further workwas halted. 
While recovering from his injuries, Brunelentered a design competition for a new bridge over the Avon Gorge near Clifton. The original judge of the competition was Thomas Telford, a leading civilengineer of his day, who rejected all entries to the competition in favor ofhis own design. After considerable scandal, a second contest was held andBrunel's design was accepted. For reasons of funding, however, exacerbated(加剧) by socialunrest in Bristol, the project was abandoned in 1843 with only the towerscompleted. After Brunel’s death, it was decided to begin work on it again,partly so that the bridge could form a fitting memorial to the great engineer. The entire structure was finally completed in 1864. Today, the well-knownClifton Suspension Bridge is a symbol of Bristol, just as the Opera House is ofSydney. Originally intended only for horse-drawn traffic, the bridge now bearsover four million motor vehicles a year. 
Brunel was an important airplaneengineer in Britain during the Industrial Revolution.