The ocean liner SS Great Britain was launched in 1843.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed SS Great Britain for the Great Western Steamship Company. She was launched at Bristol on 19 July 1843 and represented a major advance in passenger-ship construction.
The ship combined an iron hull with a screw propeller, rather than the wooden hull and paddle-wheel arrangement common on many earlier steamships. At 322 feet long, she was the largest passenger ship in the world when launched and was intended for the Bristol–New York route.
SS Great Britain is sometimes confused with SS Great Western, the company’s earlier paddle steamer. Great Britain was the newer, more experimental vessel. After a long career that included service as an emigrant ship, cargo vessel, and sailing ship, she was returned to Bristol and preserved as a museum ship.