136 — Future Brunels? Learning from the Generation that Transformed the World. A Conversation with Dr. Helen Doe

The title of this episode is "Future Brunels? Learning from the
Generation That Transformed the World." For my German listeners:
this episode is a perfect complement to Episode 128.


The first half of the 19th century was a time of remarkable
transformation, with England as a major driving force behind
changes that improved all aspects of our lives. In this episode,
I explore the achievements of one key figure of this era,
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, well-known in England but hardly
recognized outside of it—a true shame. I’m confident you’ll agree
with me by the end of this episode.


However, the purpose of this episode isn’t just to travel back to
the 19th century but to draw inspiration. What can we learn from
this extraordinary generation of engineers and entrepreneurs for
our time and the next generation?  


Dr. Helen Doe is a historian, author, and lecturer. Her books
range from maritime to RAF history. It is people, often the
ordinary and sometimes unsung heroes and heroines, who attract
her attention. She has published books on the economic and social
aspects of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s great ships. The First
Atlantic Liner featured the stories of the passengers and crew on
Brunel’s first ship, which linked Bristol, Liverpool, and New
York. This was followed by a book on the SS Great Britain. She
has appeared on many Radio 4 programmes and on TV. She is a
Fellow of the University of Exeter, where she previously taught a
range of courses and supervised postgraduates. She is a Fellow of
the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) and Chair of the British
Commission for Maritime History. Helen was for many years a
trustee of the SS Great Britain and, in 2018, was appointed as a
member of the Council of Experts for National Historic Ships, a
government advisory body.


I personally became aware of Helen when I visited the
extraordinary museum in Bristol that showcases Isambard Kingdom
Brunel’s second ship, the SS Great Britain. We will talk about
this in our conversation.


The UK offers a number of extraordinary museums. The
aforementioned museum in Bristol is significant, but also
important in terms of maritime history and definitely worth a
visit is the museum in Portsmouth.


We start the conversation with a discussion of the three most
important ships of Brunel: the Great Western, the Great Britain,
and the Great Eastern. What was Brunel’s influence on the
important warships of the time, The Rattler and The Warrior? What
about his two lesser-known ships that ran the mail route to
Australia, the Victoria and Adelaide? Why were these ships so
important, not only in terms of maritime history?  


“Communications that would take months sometimes were now reduced
to minutes.”


How so?


Construction of the Thames Tunnel with the patented shield


But to go back to the beginning: Isambard Brunel’s career started
by helping his father with the construction of the Thames Tunnel.
It continued with the Great Western Railway. Over his lifetime,
he built 1,600 km of railway tracks and managed international
railway construction projects around the world. More than 100
bridges were constructed by Brunel, many still in operation
today, nearly 200 years later.  He also played a role in the
World Exhibition of 1851 and the construction and relocation of
the Crystal Palace.


But let’s take one step back: What happened from 1700 to 1900
that triggered this rapid and unprecedented technological,
societal, and commercial progress? This was not only Brunel but a
league of extraordinary gentlemen, so to speak.  


What was Brunel’s background, why is it important, and how did
his father influence him? Why is it relevant that Isambard was
trained as a clockmaker?  Was this a cosmopolitan time and
family, contrary to the assumptions some might have of the
Victorian and Georgian eras?


Many of these engineers and entrepreneurs, like Brunel and Joseph
Paxton, were self-made men. What role did mentoring, education,
and the open exchange of ideas among these men play? What were
Stevenson and Brunel’s views on patents? We joke that Brunel
would have been a fan of open-source software.


The Victorian era offered an ideal of upward mobility that these
people used for their own advancement and to the benefit of
society. The work of this society, this engineer-driven progress,
laid the foundations of our modern lives. Moreover, most of these
men were not limited to one domain. They were interested in and
mastered all sorts of problems:


“Their minds were so flexible, they just wanted to try out new
things.”


The breadth of Brunel’s competence is evident in many successful
undertakings; one astounding example is the construction of a
hospital for the Crimean War—or was it rather the invention of
IKEA?


“Engineers solve problems, no matter what they were”


How did people like Brunel manage to get so much done in their
lives, considering the time and the fact that he died rather
young at the age of only 53?


“You wonder how that man had any spare time at all when you line
up all his projects.”


We then discussed who financed all of these enterprises and who
took the risks? Also, what is the difference between people who
do things and people who mainly talk about things?  


“Marine engines were limited in their efficiency and had to carry
so much coal that all the experts said: ‘Look, it’s not possible
to make a ship big enough to take it across the Atlantic.’”


And, as so often, many experts were wrong again. The Great
Western was highly successful, and there was a desire to build an
identical sister ship, but as so often, Brunel had other ideas.
Why not build the first large iron ship? The Great Britain!
 These ships also represented luxury travel. What did this
mean in combination with this entirely new technology?  How
did the “Tripadvisor reviews” of the 19th century work?


They experiences an age of transformation: everything changed,
and yet trust in skilled people who took enormous personal risks
enabled this transformation that is closer to a miracle than
evolutionary improvements.  


We learn that innovation is unpredictable. Sometimes the inventor
does not realise he created something that transforms the world,
and sometimes he believes in an invention that ultimately fails.
Progress thus requires experimentation, risk-taking, and
patience.


What can we and our younger generation learn from these people
who transformed our world?


“Using the past to inspire the young of the future?”


Other Episodes


Episode 129: Rules, A Conversation with Prof. Lorraine Daston

Episode 128: Aufbruch in die Moderne — Der Mann, der die Welt
erfindet!

Episode 126: Schwarz gekleidet im dunklen Kohlekeller. Ein
Gespräch mit Axel Bojanowski

Episode 125: Ist Fortschritt möglich? Ideen als Widergänger
über Generationen

Episode 118: Science and Decision Making under Uncertainty, A
Conversation with Prof. John Ioannidis

Episode 110: The Shock of the Old, a conversation with David
Edgerton

Episode 107: How to Organise Complex Societies? A
Conversation with Johan Norberg

Episode 74: Apocalype Always

Episode 71: Stagnation oder Fortschritt — eine Reflexion an
der Geschichte eines Lebens

Episode 65: Getting Nothing Done — Teil 2

Episode 64: Getting Nothing Done — Teil 1



References


Website of Dr Helen Doe

Heleln Doe, The First Atlantic Liner, Brunel's Great Western
Steamship, Amberley (2020)

Helen Doe, SS Great Britain, Amberley (2022)

Steven Brindle, Brunel: The Man Who Built the World, W&N
(2006)

Brunel Biography by his son: Isambard Brunel B. C. I., The
Life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Civil Engineer (1870)

National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth Historic
Dockyard

Museum in Bristol / SS Great Britain (“Being Brunel”) 

https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/collections-and-research/

The Future Brunels Program

I. K. Brunel's Crimean War Hospital, C. G. Merridew (2014)

Kate Colquhoun, A Thing in Disguise, The Visionary Life of
Joseph Paxton, Fourth Estate (2012)