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On the other hand, you have the man who built several of the biggest, which were also in many cases the first, successes in several different areas of engineeri
by JasonFruit 5y ago
On the other hand, you have the man who built several of the biggest, which were also in many cases the first, successes in several different areas of engineering: Isambard Kingdom Brunel[0]. He built the largest ocean-going vessel of his time (the Great Western and the even bigger Great Eastern), the first tunnel under a navigable river (the Thames Tunnel), the longest bridge of its time (the Clifton Suspension Bridge), as well as little things like the Great Western Railway. He was a pretty inspiring person, and the biography his son wrote of him is excellent reading[1].
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel
[1]: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/41210 https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/41210
- njarboe 5y agoThe Great Eastern has a cool history and was critical in ushering in the modern age. It was the only ship that existed that could carry a single cable of telegraph line the length of the Atlantic. Not having splices in the cable was quite important for them to function and survive in the early days. The ship was mostly a financial failure until it started being used all over the world to put down long ocean-spanning telegraph cables.