SS Great Eastern SS Great Eastern SS "Great Eastern" was an iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of was only surpassed in 1899 by the 17,274-gross-ton RMS "Oceanic", her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 21,035-gross-ton RMS "Celtic", and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel father's middle name, which was also his father's preferred given name. "Isambard" is a Norman name of Germanic origin, meaning either "iron-bright" or "iron-axe". The first element comes from "isarn" meaning iron (or steel). The second element comes from either "biart-r" (bright, glorious) or from "barđa" (a broad axe). His middle name "Kingdom" was his mother's maiden name. The son of French civil engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel and an English mother Sophia Kingdom, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born on 9 April 1806 in Britain Street, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, where his father was working on block-making machinery. He had two