Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( 9 April 1806 -- 15 September 1859 ) was an English engineer . He created the Great Western Railway , many steamships and several bridges and tunnels . Isambard Kingdom Brunel , FRS ( 9 April 1806 -- 15 September 1859 ) , was a leading British civil engineer , famed for his bridges and dockyards , and especially for the construction of the first major British railway , the Great Western Railway ; a series of famous steamships , including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship ; and numerous important bridges and tunnels .