1769-1849

British civil engineer who built the world's first underwater tunnel, the Thames Tunnel in London. Born in France, Brunel fled to America as a royalist refugee in the aftermath of the French Revolution. He served as chief engineer of New York City, and built a canal between Lake Champlain and the Hudson. In 1799 he settled in England, and began construction of the Thames Tunnel in 1825. He was knighted in 1841.