• Institution of Mechanical Engineers

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) was founded in Birmingham in 1847 by a group of engineers and manufacturers with the aim of giving ‘impulse to inventions likely to be useful to the world’. The Institution had 70 founding members and its first president was the engineer George Stephenson. The first reading of a paper for publication soon followed, commencing a tradition of publishing academic research on engineering science in the Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Individuals could initially join as members or honorary members and in 1850 the class of graduate member was added. In 1877 the Institution moved its offices from Birmingham to London, initially working from rented premises. The move to London precipitated a golden decade of research and publication. The Institution established its own research committees, including one on friction and lubrication. Beauchamp Tower’s reports for this group firmly established the importance of what is now known as tribology. In 1899 the Institution moved to permanent premises at 1 Birdcage Walk which offered purpose-built space, including a lecture theatre and library. In 1913 graduate examinations were introduced in a drive to improve the training of mechanical engineers. The membership class of student was introduced in 1920 and in the same year the Institution played a significant role in the creation of the national certificate scheme. In 1924 Verena Holmes became the first female member of the Institution when she was elected as an associate member. In 1930 the Institution was issued with a royal charter. In 1947 the Institution of Mechanical Engineers merged with the Institution of Automobile Engineers leading to the creation of an Automobile Division. In 1969 it also merged with the Institution of Locomotive Engineers leading to the creation of a Railway Division. Today the Institution of Mechanical Engineers is a global professional engineering institution with 120,000 members in 140 countries. It represents, accredits and develops mechanical engineers, promotes engineering, informs opinion, and encourages innovation and its members work across a range of industries including aerospace, automotive, biomedical, construction and building services, manufacturing, power and energy, process and railways.