Wrench Speaker Robert Hulse on Isambard Kingdom Brunel

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Robert Hulse, M.A., Director of London's Brunel Museum and will present a fascinating Victorian titan of industry and design, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and an interesting 20th-century American counterpart, Frank Lloyd Wright. His illustrated lecture is entitled, Isambard Kingdom Brunel: A Victorian Frank Lloyd Wright. Americans need little introduction to their favorite architect, but they may not know Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Englishman who changed the world. His first project, the oldest tunnel in the London subway, set forth the shape of our cities. His last project, the Great Eastern steamship, changed the pattern of world trade. Everything Brunel did, by land or by sea, he did with flare and showmanship worthy of Frank Lloyd Wright. Both worked beyond the parameters of established practice. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Brunel was flamboyant as well as prolific. Like him, he was stylish, cutting a figure as a man of fashion, a collector and patron of the arts. In his lecture, Robert Hulse will introduce us to this extraordinary Englishman and discuss the remarkable similarities he shares with the 20th-century American architect, both of whom challenged the way we think about buildings and cities.

Brunel built the biggest ship in the world threetimes. He built the fastest railway in the world, a hundred bridges, the first river tunnel, and said 'I wish to be the first engineer and an example to all future ones'. Join us to hear this compelling account of Brunel, the quintessential promethean engineer who changed the world.

The English-Speaking Union invites you to hear Robert Hulse's introduction to one of history's great civil engineers

Thursday, April 28, 2016
6:00 pm Reception  •  6:30 pm Illustrated lecture
$40 ESU Members •  $45 Non Members
The Union League Club  •  65 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604

Register online today at www.events.org/Brunel
Or by calling the ESU at 312-772-3782

Kindly reserve your spot by April 22nd. Reservations will be held at the door.

Don't miss this extraordinary speaker program!

Photo: Isambard Kingdom Brunel by the launching chains of the SS Great Eastern 1857

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