Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806 - 1859) Gallery

Longitudinal cross section of SS Great Eastern, Leviathan, Steamship, 19th Century

Vintage illustration of Longitudinal cross section of SS Great Eastern, Leviathan, Steamship 19th Century. An iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling

© of Duncan P Walker

The Great Eastern At Dock In New York

A crowd of people gawks at the revolutionary ship SS Great Eastern designed and built by engineer entrepreneur Isambard Kingdom Brunel as she sits at her dock in New York City, 1860s. The Great Eastern was by far the largest ship of her day (launched in 1858) at 680 feet in length and nearly 20, 000 tons gross displacement, her length and tonnage would not be exceeded until 1899 and 1901 respectively. She was constucted with double iron hulls, room for 3, 000 passengers (ten times the capacity of any other ship of the time), gas lighting, sails, sidewheels, and screw propellers and was designed to ply the Britain to Australia route without refuelling. After a series of construction and launching mishaps she finally sailed into New York with 38 passengers. She never made a profit in her intended role but had a long career as a cableship as her great hull could carry thousands of miles of telegraph cable. She was sold for scrap in 1888 and the job was so immense the first modern wrecking ball was built to take on the task. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images)

© 2004 Getty Images