7-foot-¼-inch gauge railway

Isambard Kingdom Brunel FRS
Isambard Kingdom Brunel by the launching chains of the SS Great Eastern by Robert Howlett, 1857
Born	(1806-04-09)9 April 1806 Portsmouth, England
Died	15 September 1859(1859-09-15) (aged 53) Westminster, London, England
Nationality	British
Education	Lycée Henri-IV University of Caen
Spouse(s)	Mary Elizabeth Horsley
Children	Isambard Brunel Junior Henry Marc Brunel Florence Mary Brunel
Parent(s)	Marc Isambard Brunel Sophia Kingdom
Engineering career
Discipline	Civil engineer Structural engineer
Institutions	Institution of Civil Engineers
Projects	Great Western Railway Clifton Suspension Bridge Great Britain
Significant design	Royal Albert Bridge
Signature

Isambard Kingdom Brunel FRS (/ˈɪzəmˌbɑːd bruːˈnɛl/; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859), was an English mechanical and civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions". Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.

Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering "firsts", including assisting in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river and development of SS Great Britain, the first propeller-driven, ocean-going, iron, ship, which, when built in 1843, was the largest ship ever built.

Brunel set the standard for a well-built railway, using careful surveys to minimise grades and curves. This necessitated expensive construction techniques, new bridges, new viaducts, and the two-mile-long Box Tunnel. One controversial feature was the wide gauge, a "broad gauge" of 7 ft ¹⁄₄ in (2,140 mm), instead of what was later to be known as 'standard gauge' of 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm).