science · 16 November 1796 · 228 years ago
In 1796, inventor and engineer Marc Brunel was issued his first U.S. patent for his method of “Ruling Books and Paper.” He obtained other U.S. patents, including for a “Machine for Writing With Two Pens” (17 Jan 1799), “Machine For Raising Water” (27 Apr 1798) and “Mode of Obtaining Power from Certain Fluids” (30 Mar 1827). He was born in France (1769), but fled the Revolution and spent six years in America. By the 1790s, he was architect and chief engineer for New York City. In Mar 1799 he moved to England and expanded his career. Brunell is famous for his construction of the Thames Tunnel, in London, the first tunnel excavated under a navigable river. His son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, also had a distinguished engineering career producing railroads, bridges and steamships.
OnThisDay.net