Brunel, Isambard Kingdom
From Astro-Databank
| Name |
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| born on | 8 April 1806 at 00:55 (= 12:55 AM ) | ||
| Place | Portsmouth, England, 50n48, 1w05 | ||
| Timezone | LMT m1w05 (is local mean time) | ||
| Data source |
| ||
| Astrology data |   17°31'   15°05 Asc. 27°28'
|
Biography
British chief engineer of the Great Western Railway in 1833. He built the Thames tunnel, the docks at Bristol, the London-Bristol line, and, at the height of his fame in the 1850s, Paddington Station.
Raised in an engineering environment he was strongly influenced by his imaginative and supportive father. His dad gave him drawing lessons when he was four and soon after, started him on Euclid. By 1825 at the age of 19, he was helping his dad with the great Thames Tunnel project. Marc Brunel had invented the "shield" which made such a project possible. During the three-year difficult and dangerous job, Isambard quickly assumed responsibility under his dad. However, the project ended in disaster when the Thames broke in and Isambard was severely injured through the inrush of water which flooded the tunnel. The unfinished "great bore" was sealed up and remained so for seven years.
In 1829 he made designs for a bridge to gap the River Avon at Clifton, and through this work was engaged upon designing new docks at Bristol. His workmanship impressed many influential people in Bristol, and as a result he was given a job which was designed to prove the greatest in his career. He was appointed chief engineer to the Great Western Railway Company. This was at age 24.
Brunel was married in 5/1936; they had three kids. The first born, a son, was crippled, and followed by two daughters. Witty, kind and considerate, he was loved by his many friends. It was said that "No one ever saw him out of temper or heard him utter an ill-natured word."
Died on 9/15/1859, London.
Events
- Death, Cause unspecified 15 September 1859 (Age 53)
- Relationship : Marriage May 1936 (Three kids)
- Work : New Job 1833 (Chief engineer of Great Western Railway)
Source Notes
Original source notes give: Arthur Blackwell quotes M. Harmer in Kosmos, 7/1970, who quotes Brunel's father's diary. In 2004, PT adds that The Blackwell Database gives the following for its source: "18O6, April 8 at O:55 a.m. LMT (OO:59:2O UT) in Portsmouth, England (5ON48, 1WO5). Birth data of the engineer from his father's diary: "On April 8th at 5 before 1 a.m" as given by R. M. Harmer in the "AQ" for June 1964. An article by Harmer in "Kosmos" for July 197O gives the same birth data except that "...5 before 1O a.m." but that is a mis-print and Harmer bases his chart work on the OO:55 time. It is possible that the birth data was recorded in Local Apparent Time although LMT is assumed. The "Encyclopaedia Brittanica" gives the date of birth as "April 9." In spring 2004, Sy Scholfield reported that he found a biography by L.T.C. Rolt, "Isambard Kingdom Brunel" Penguin Books, London, New York, 1989 (first published in 1957) which says on page 13: "The Brunels were still at Portsea in 1806 when Marc [Brunel] wrote in his journal: "’On the 9th of April, and at five minutes before one o’clock in the morning my dear Sophia was brought to bed of a boy.’ This was Isambard, his only son." In the absence of a copy of his father’s diary, and with two conflicting times, we will have to downgrade the reliability of this birth information to DD.
Categories
- Vocation : Engineer : Civil (Great Western Railway, Thames tunnel, etc.)
- Notable : Famous : Historic figure (Built great landmarks)
- Notable : Famous : Top 5% of Profession
- Traits : Personality : Loved by all
- Traits : Personality : Gracious/ sociable
- Family : Relationship : Number of Marriages (One)
- Family : Parenting : Kids 1-3 (Three)
- Family : Parenting : Kids -Traumatic event (Son was crippled)
