Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer, is considered one of the most ingenious figures in engineering history. He built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, and numerous bridges and tunnels, revolutionizing public transport and modern engineering. He achieved many engineering firsts, such as building the first tunnel under a navigable river and designing the first propeller-driven, ocean-going iron ship. Brunel’s projects were not always successful, but they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. Despite controversy, he set high standards for railway construction and proposed extending the railway to North America. Brunel’s work has had a lasting impact on the field of engineering.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel