• Institution of Automobile Engineers

The Cycle Engineers' Institute was established in Birmingham in 1898, but with the growth of motor car manufacturing it was renamed the Automobile & Cycle Engineers' Institute in 1904. In 1906 the Institute decided to move to Albermarle Street, Piccadilly, London, where in 1907 it was incorporated as the Institution of Automobile Engineers (IAE). In 1908 local centres were formed in Birmingham and Coventry. The main office moved to Queen Ann’s Gate, Westminster, in 1910 and the following year a further local centre was set up in Manchester. In 1914 the Institution office moved to Victoria Street, Westminster. By 1917 it had 1,000 members some of which were also working on early aircraft design and manufacture. More local centres were established during the 1930s along with a Research and Standardization Committee in 1931. A research laboratory was acquired in west London in 1935 and an office building in Hobart Place, London, in 1937. In 1938, when membership reached 3,000, the Institution was granted a royal charter of incorporation. In 1945 the Motor Industry Research Association was established and took over the Institution’s laboratory. The Institution Automobile Engineers merged with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1947, becoming its Automobile Division.