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Isambard Kingdom Brunel
He was told his ship was too big to float and his tunnel was too deep to survive — and spent his career proving that what seemed impossible was mostly a failure of imagination.
1806–1859
Life Journey
Engineering ambition on a grand scale
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1806
Born into engineering
Brunel was born in Portsmouth into a family of engineers, growing up surrounded by technical ideas that shaped his curiosity and confidence.
