Sunday, July 29

God BLESS British Engineers



Who's the Guy in the Top Hat? Abraham Lincoln? No - an ENGINEER!
The Olympic Opening Ceremonies contained a tribute that passed mostly without remark in American coverage of them. Among others, they honored one of the great engineers of history and one of my personal heroes: Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

For those that are not engineers (or a few architects), Brunel was a giant of the Victorian age. He broke new ground in railways and railway construction. He also did the same in other construction with ships such as the "Great Eastern."

I had to argue a bit with my kids as they only knew the actor as Hamlet. Well, he played an engineer as well this last week. Thanks, Brits, YOU ROCK! There is a reason many polls list IK Brunel as the #2 Brit of all time - after Winston Churchill and before any "Royal."

Passing of the Torch - Another Brunel Connection

Brunel - In a Classic Photo as Shown in Wikipedia. Compare With the Actor at the Top Shot

3 comments:

cafiend said...

I've always loved that picture of Brunel in front of the chains. "Yeah, we can build that."

Ian Brett Cooper said...

As an engineer (and a British one at that), I too relished seeing old IKB at the Olympics - and I thoroughly enjoyed explaining to my wife and daughter who he was.

Ham said...

And now, Bradley Wiggins. Sometimes, it is damn good to be British ;-)

Notice.... they BOTH have sideburns!!

Post a Comment

No Need for Non-Robot proof here!