Marc Isambard Brunel

Sir Marc Isambard Brunel FRS FRSE
Portrait of Marc Isambard Brunel by James Northcote, 1813
Born	Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-04-25)25 April 1769 Hacqueville, Normandy, France
Died	12 December 1849(1849-12-12) (aged 80) Westminster, London, England
Resting place	Kensal Green Cemetery
Nationality	French (1769–1796) American (1796–1849)
Occupation	Engineer
Known for	Thames Tunnel
Spouse	Sophia Kingdom ​ (m. 1799)​
Children	Sophie Emma Isambard
Military career
Allegiance	Kingdom of France
Service/branch	French Navy
Years of service	1786–1792

Sir Marc Isambard Brunel FRS FRSE (/bruːˈnɛl/, French: [maʁk izɑ̃baʁ bʁynɛl]; 25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-British engineer^[1] who is most famous for the work he did in Britain.^[2] He constructed the Thames Tunnel and was the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Born in France, Brunel fled to the United States during the French Revolution. In 1796, he was appointed Chief Engineer of New York City. He moved to London in 1799, where he married Sophia Kingdom. In addition to the construction of the Thames Tunnel, his work as a mechanical engineer included the design of machinery to automate the production of pulley blocks for the Royal Navy.

Brunel preferred the given name Isambard, but is generally known to history as Marc to avoid confusion with his more famous son.