(born April 25, 1769, Hacqueville, France—died Dec. 12, 1849, London, Eng.) French-born British engineer and inventor. He perfected a method for making ships' blocks (pulleys) by mechanical means rather than by hand; the system of 43 machines, run by 10 men, produced blocks superior in quality and consistency to those previously handmade by more than 100 men.
This installation was an early example of completely mechanized production (&see; mechanization). In 1818 he patented the tunneling shield, a device that made safe tunneling through water-bearing strata possible. In 1825 operations began for building the Brunel-designed tunnel under the River Thames, an unprecedented feat completed in 1842. He was the father of I.K. Brunel.
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