Anne Locker, Library and Archives Manager In 2026, we celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Royal Society awarding Hertha Ayrton the Hughes medal for her contributions to science. Seven years earlier, she became a Member of the Institution of Electrical... Continue Reading →
Guest blog by Peter Barker Why this blog? This story is about the achievements of a far from ordinary scientist who made a major contribution to the digital age but received little recognition. My late father, Ronald Hugh Barker, died... Continue Reading →
By Asha Gage, IET Archivist In 2013 the IET’s London home, Savoy Place, underwent a major refurbishment project to adapt the building to the needs of modern-day events and its members. As part of this a condition was stipulated that... Continue Reading →
By Asha Gage, IET Archivist William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs (1824-1907), Honorary Member and former President of the IEE three times (1874, 1889, 1907), was a British mathematical physicist and engineer. During his lifetime Thomson made an enormous contribution... Continue Reading →
By Anne Locker, Library and Archives Manager A Royal Charter for the Society of Telegraph Engineers In 1875, the meteorologist and telegraphy pioneer Sir Francis Ronalds bequeathed his library of rare books to the Society of Telegraph Engineers, an organisation... Continue Reading →
What you see above is a Kinora, a device invented by cinematography pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière. Patented in France in 1896, the Kinora was a smaller and portable version of the mutoscope, known in the United Kingdom as ‘What-the-butler-saw... Continue Reading →
The IEE Social Club was formed circa 1938 for the staff at the IEE's Savoy Place in London and it held its first Annual Dinner in December 1938. The President of the IEE Social Club in the 1950s was William... Continue Reading →
IET Archives blog 