Thursday 4 October 2012 | IET London: Savoy Place
History
A brief history of the lecture
The Society of Telegraph Engineers (STE) formally came into existence on 17 May 1871. At the first meeting Charles William Siemens (1823-1883) was appointed President and gave the first President’s Inaugural Address later that year.
At the General Meeting of the STE on 22 December 1880 it was decided to alter the title to reflect the changes in electrical technology of the day and was renamed The Society of Telegraph Engineers and of Electricians. The first President’s Address of the STEE was given by George Carey Foster in 1881.
On 10 November 1887 a motion was put forward to alter the name to the Institution of Electrical Engineers to reflect its representation of the body of electrical engineers in England and on 1 January 1889 the name of the Society changed to the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). The first President’s Address was given by the esteemed Sir William Thomson (Baron Kelvin of Largs) in 1889.
In the ensuing 95 years the President’s office has been filled by many notable members of the engineering community, including Lord Kelvin (1889 & 1907), each of whom has given a President’s Address to members of the Institution and guests.
In 2006 the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) was formed by the coming together of the IEE and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) under the presidency of Sir John Chisholm. The first President to give his Address to the IET was Sir Robin Saxby in October 2006.
The President’s Address remains the first official responsibility of the incoming IET President when taking on the post in October of each year.
See also
