Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1847

occupation:
Professional organisation
Nationality:
English; British
born in:
Birmingham, Borough of Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom

1847 - first meeting of the Institution held in the Queen's Hotel, Birmingham where George Stephenson was made the first president. 1849 - On the death of his father, Robert Stephenson succeeds him as president. 1851 - held its first meeting in London, in the Society of Arts’ Adelphi Rooms. 1856 - Joseph Whitworth became the fourth president. 1868 - the Whitworth Scholarships for engineering were founded with a gift of £100,000. 1871 - a committee was formed to investigate building an entirely new meeting house. 1877 - the Institution moved completely to London. 1895 - the idea of a new headquarters for the Institution was once more initiated. 1899 - the new building was officially opened at 1 Birdcage Walk where it remains currently. 1909 - after the purchase of Storey’s Gate Tavern, the building was extended. 1913 - work was completed on the new extension. 1914 - during the First World War, the building was requisitioned by the Office of Works and the Insitution moved to 11 Great George Street. 1936 - to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of James Watt the Institution decided to award, every two years, a Gold Medal to an engineer who has achieved international recognition. 1940 - at the outbreak of World War II, the Institution moved out of London to The Meadows, Bletchley which was eventually requisitioned forcing the Institution to return to London. 1960 - numbers 1 and 3 Birdcage Walk were formally joined and the building remodelled. 1984 - established The Engineering Heritage Award for in mechanical engineering.