1-632-410 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

Isambard Kingdom Brunel beside the 'Great Eastern', c1857. Brunel (1806-1859) proposed to the Eastern Steam Navigation Company the construction of a steamship five or six times the size of any then in use. It would use two forms of power: paddle-wheels and screw-engines. Constructed from iron at Millwall, London, between 1853 and 1858, the Great Eastern was the largest vessel afloat until she was broken up in 1888. Only in 1899 were her dimensions exceeded by the SS 'Oceanic'. The Great Eastern was not a success as a passenger vessel and was sold for a fraction of her building cost. She was used as a cable-laying ship, most notably laying the Transatlantic telegraph cable in 1865-1866.