Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849) French-born mechanical and civil engineer who settled in England in 1799, a refugee from the French Revolution. Father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Invented block making machinery for producing pulley blocks for ships' rigging, and a tunnelling shield which was used in the construction of the Thames Tunnel, London, opened in 1843. Engraving from L'Illustration (Paris, 8 December 1849).