Search

IET Archives blog

Stories from the Institution of Engineering and Technology

The IET@150 – a brief history of our lectures

By Asha Gage, IET Archivist The IET has a strong history of presenting lectures and papers, not only to their members, but also to the public. Looking back at the Institution’s original aims to bring people and ideas together, to... Continue Reading →

Discover Learn Share: The Archives of Information Technology (AIT)

Guest Blog by Dr Tom Abram, Director – AIT AIT is an online digital database of oral history and documents from the UK IT and Telecommunications (Tech) industry. We are a charity, free to access, and aim to inspire, inform,... Continue Reading →

Sports Day at the Standard Telephones & Cables (STC)

By Aisling O'Malley, IET Archivist The UK summer conjures images of barbecues with family and friends, relaxing days on the beach, and the overzealous sunbather’s burnt skin. Yet, a UK summer is not complete without a sports day. The IET... Continue Reading →

Dollis Hill: The Life and Career of Tom Belcher

Guest Blog by Peter Belcher and Aisling O’Malley, IET Archivist Earlier this year, the IET Archives received a 'Handbook of Technical Information for Communications Engineers', issued to Post Office Engineering staff at Dollis Hill Research Station during the 1940s. This... Continue Reading →

From the Palace to the White House: cataloguing the Caroline Haslett correspondence

By Anne Locker, Library and Archives Manager Image above: Caroline Haslett and President Truman at the White House, 1952. Caroline is standing to the President's right, in the dark dress with a striped collar (NAEST 033/12/06) Background Dame Caroline Haslett... Continue Reading →

Shining a light on William Edwards Staite

By Asha Gage, IET Archivist When two pieces of carbon are connected to a high voltage electricity supply, an arc of brilliant light is "struck" between them when they are a short distance apart. The first man to observe this... Continue Reading →

A H Midgley (1881-1961): A Brief Biography

By Aisling O'Malley, IET Archivist Albert Henry Midgley is best known for his work on organ building. During the 1920s, Midgley saw commercial success in an organ he developed for cinemas and theatres, and his 1931 electric organ. However, Midgley’s... Continue Reading →

Magnetic Storms by A.G. McNish

By Aisling O'Malley, IET Archivist On Sunday 24th March 1940, a magnetic storm impacted the power and communication systems across North America. Reports from the time noted cases of voltage dips, the tripping of transformer banks, and severe and reactive... Continue Reading →

Rare Book: Pierre Gassendi’s Institutio Astronomica

By Daniel Simkin, IET Research Librarian The image above is of the moon observed by Galileo and included in the second edition of the rare book Institutio Astronomica by Pierre Gassendi, published in 1647. The edition held by the IET... Continue Reading →

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑