Brunel timeline
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Brunel timeline
Brunel's life was so full it would be difficult to mention everything! Here are some of the key dates.
Key dates in Brunel's life | Related dates in the postal service | |
|---|---|---|
Isambard Kingdom Brunel is born, to parents Marc and Sophia. | 1806 | |
Brunel is appointed Resident Engineer on the Thames Tunnel, taking over from his father. Brunel narrowly escapes death when roof collapses. He later hosts a banquet in the tunnel to restore confidence. | 1827 |
|
Brunel wins competition to build a bridge across the Avon river gorge at Clifton. Work starts in 1831 but is abandoned in 1843. | 1830 | First mail carried by train, between Liverpool and Manchester. |
Brunell appointed Chief Engineer to Great Western Railway. | 1833 | |
Work begins on Box Tunnel. | 1836 | |
Brunel becomes engineer of Great Western Steam Ship Co. and work begins in Bristol on paddle steamer Great Western. |  | |
Brunel marries Mary Horsley. | ||
PS Great Western sails from Bristol to New York in 15 days, carrying transatlantic mail. | 1838 |
|
Maidenhead Bridge completed. | First Travelling Post Office train between Birmingham and Liverpool, with letters sorted on the move. | |
| 1840 | Universal Penny Postage introduced in Britain on 10 January. The world's first stamp, the Penny Black, is issued on 6 May. | |
Box Tunnel completed, and Great Western Railway route from London to Bristol opened. | 1841 | |
Bristol Temple Meads Station completed. | ||
Maiden voyage of SS Great Britain. Brunel's Hungerford suspension footbridge crosses the River Thames. Speculative boom in railway share trading - 'Railway Mania' - is at its peak. | 1845 |  |
| 1846 | The last London horse-drawn Mail Coach leaves for Norwich. | |
Work begins on Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash. | 1848 | |
Construction of Paddington Station begins. | 1852 | The first British pillar boxes are erected on Jersey. |
Keel of SS Great Eastern laid in Millwall, London. | 1854 | |
Paddington station opens. | ||
| 1855 | The first London pillar boxes appear. | |
| Two attempts to launch SS Great Eastern. | 1857 | London is divided into ten postal districts based on the points of the compass. |
SS Great Eastern finally launched in January. | 1858 |  |
Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash opened in May by Prince Albert. | 1859 | |
Brunel dies on 11 September, ten days after suffering a stroke. | ||
SS Great Eastern makes maiden voyage, carrying just 35 paying passengers (but over 400 crew). | 1860 |  |
Clifton Suspension Bridge finally completed as a tribute to Brunel by the Institute of Civil Engineers. | 1864 |
