Great Eastern is best remembered as the ship that helped lay the first transatlantic telegraph cable.  The cable linking America with Europe was put in place in September, 1866. 

Designed Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Great Eastern was the largest ship at the time of her 1858 launch, six times larger than any ship ever built.  693 feet long, the ship had five funnels, each 100 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. The two paddle wheels were 58 feet in diameter, and the propeller 24 feet! She had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers around the world without refueling.  

Great Eastern would only be surpassed in length in 1899 by the SS Oceanic II and in tonnage in 1901 by the SS Celtic II.  Brunel called her affectionately as the "great babe."