Robert Howlett in this feat of engineering. This project included the well-known portrait of the "Great Eastern"’s creator and engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, standing in front of the giant launching chains on the 'checking drum' braking mechanism at John Scott Russell’s Millwall shipyard. It was taken to celebrate the launch of the world’s largest steamship, in November 1857. This image, which depicts Brunel in an industrial setting instead of a more traditional background for a portrait, has been described as "one of the first examples of environmental portraiture". Howlett died in 1858, aged 27, at his home and studio at 10 Bedford
Francis Pettit Smith for propelling vessels by means of a screw revolving beneath the water at the stern. After securing the financial backing of several parties, he helped organize the Propeller Steamship Company which in 1839 built the world's first successful screw-propelled steamship, . A short time later, he was instrumental in persuading Isambard Kingdom Brunel to change the design of the SS "Great Britain" from paddle to screw propulsion, by lending Brunel the "Archimedes" for several months. He also helped persuade the British Admiralty to adopt screw propulsion. Between 1864 and 1870 he resided in an elegant Victorian house at 17 Sydenham