1837 19th July
SS Great Western
The wooden paddle steamship SS Great Western is launched at Bristol under Brunel's direction.
Brunel engineering · permanent subject timeline
SS Great Western
Brunel's pioneering purpose-built transatlantic steamship. This page combines historical context with 4 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database Brunel chronology.
Historical context
SS Great Western: overview and significance
What happened?
SS Great Western was designed for regular steam service across the Atlantic and entered service in 1838. The wooden paddle steamer demonstrated that a large vessel could carry enough coal for practical long-distance steam navigation.
Why was it important?
The ship connected Brunel's railway ambitions with ocean transport. It helped establish the viability of scheduled transatlantic steamship service and began the sequence of increasingly ambitious ships associated with Brunel.
World History Database records
SS Great Western timeline
The records below are selected from the 361-record Brunel chronology and are rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1837
1838
1838 24th March
Great Western Sea Trial Completed
SS Great Western completes an early sea trial before beginning her first Atlantic service.
1838 8th April
SS Great Western
SS Great Western departs Bristol on her first Atlantic voyage to New York.
1838 23rd April
SS Great Western
SS Great Western reaches New York and demonstrates the commercial practicality of regular steamship crossings.
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database Brunel records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
Brunel Museum · Brunel's SS Great Britain · Science Museum Group Collection
Continue exploring