Brunel, Marc Isambard

French-born British engineer and inventor, father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He constructed the tunnel under the River Thames in London from Wapping to Rotherhithe (1825–43). He was knighted in 1841.

Brunel fled to the USA in 1793 to escape the French Revolution. He became Chief Engineer of New York advising on defence. In 1799 he moved to England to mass-produce marine blocks, which were needed by the navy. Brunel demonstrated that with specially designed machine tools 10 men could do the work of 100, more quickly, more cheaply, and yield a better product. He made a large profit and invested it in sawmills in Battersea, London. Cheating partners and fire damage to the sawmills caused the business to fail and Brunel was imprisoned for debt in 1821. He spent the latter part of his life working on the Rotherhithe tunnel.