Happy birthday, Isambard!
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who became one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, was born in Britain Street, Portsea.
His distinctive name came from a parental combination - he was the son of the son of French civil engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, who was working at Portsmouth Dockyard, and of Sophia Kingdom.
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Hide Ad‘Isambard’ is a Norman name of Germanic origin, meaning ‘iron-bright’.
It was a fitting name for the man whose achivements included building dockyards, the Great Western Railway, a series of steamships including SS Great Britain and many iconic bridges and tunnels.