Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Logo

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is the British engineering society concerned with mechanical engineering.

Overview

:Vision statementTo be the natural professional home for all involved in Mechanical Engineering

The Institution was founded in 1847 in Birmingham by the railway pioneer George Stephenson and others. The Institution of Civil Engineers had been founded in 1818, and the Institution of Electrical Engineers was founded later in 1871.

Headoffice is located at 1 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London, SW1H 9JJ.

Presidents

As of 2006, there have been 121 presidents of the Institution, who since 1922 have been elected annually for one year. The first president was George Stephenson, followed by his son Robert. Joseph Whitworth, John Penn and William Armstrong are the only persons to have served two terms. Pamela Liversidge in 1997-98 was the first – and so far only – woman president.

Past presidents include:

No.	Years	Name	Sphere
1	1847–1848	George Stephenson	railway engineer
2	1849–1853	Robert Stephenson	railway engineer, MP
3	1854–1855	William Fairbairn	manufacturer, trader, ironmaster, bridge, mill wheels, ships, later made baronet.
4	1856–1857	Joseph Whitworth (First term)	pioneer of machine tools, precision engineering
5	1858–1859	John Penn (First term)
6	1860	James Kennedy
7	1861–1862	William George Armstrong (First term)	Industrialist and inventor, primarily of armaments. Pioneer of domestic electricity
8	1863–1865	Robert Napier
4	1865–1866	Joseph Whitworth (Second term)	pioneer of machine tools, precision engineering
5	1866–1868	John Penn (Second term)
7	1868–1869	William George Armstrong (Second term)	Industrialist and inventor, primarily of armaments. Pioneer of domestic electricity
9	1870–1871	John Ramsbottom	railway engineer
10	1872–1873	Sir William Siemens
11	1874–1875	Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell
12	1876–1877	Thomas Hawksley	water and gas engineer
13	1878–1879	John Robinson
14	1880–1881	Edward Alfred Cowper	Metallurgist, inventor of Cowper pot
15	1882–1883	Percy Graham Buchanan Westmacott
16	1884	Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell	Iron master
17	1885–1886	Jeremiah Head
18	1887–1888	Sir Edward Hamer Carbutt
19	1889	Charles Cochrane
20	1890–1891	Joseph Tomlinson
21	1892–1893	Sir William Anderson
22	1894–1895	Prof. Alexander Blackie William Kennedy	Professor of engineering, University College London
23	1896–1897	Edward Windsor Richards	Iron master
24	1898	Samuel W. Johnson	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Midland Railway
25	1899–1900	Sir William Henry White	Naval architect
26	1901–1902	William Henry Maw	Editor, Engineering
27	1903–1904	Joseph Hartley Wicksteed
28	1905–1906	Edward Pritchard Martin
29	1907–1908	Tom Hurry Riches	Chief engineer, Taff Vale Railway
30	1909–1910	Sir John Audley Frederick Aspinall	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
31	1911–1912	Edward Bayzard Ellington
32	1913–1914	Sir Hay Frederick Donaldson
33	1915–1916	William Cawthorne Unwin
34	1917–1918	Michael Longridge
35	1919	Edward Hopkinson
36	1920–1921	Cpt Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey
37	1922	Dr Henry Selby Hele-Shaw
38	1923	Sir John Dewrance
39	1924	William Henry Patchell
40	1925	Sir Vincent Raven	Chief Mechanical Engineer, North Eastern Railway
41	1926	Sir William Reavell	Compressor manufacturer
42	1927	Sir Henry Fowler	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Midland Railway and London Midland and Scottish Railway
43	1928	Richard William Allen
44	1929	Daniel Adamson
45	1930	Loughnan St Lawrence Pendred	Editor of The Engineer
46	1931	Edwin Kitson Clark
47	1932	William Taylor
48	1933	Alan Ernest Leofric Chorlton
49	1934	Charles Day
50	1935	Major-General Alexander Elliott Davidson
51	1936	Sir Nigel Gresley	Chief Mechanical Engineer, London and North Eastern Railway
52	1937	Sir John Edward Thornycroft
53	1938	David E Roberts
54	1939	E. Bruce Ball
55	1940	Asa Binns
56	1941	Sir William Stanier	Chief Mechanical Engineer, London, Midland and Scottish Railway
57	1942	Col Stephen Joseph Thompson
58	1943	Frederick Charles Lea
59	1944	Sir Harry Ralph Ricardo	Automotive engineer. Founder, Ricardo Consulting
60	1945	Andrew Robertson
61	1946	Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Southern Railway
62	1947	Lord Dudley Gordon
63	1948	E. William Gregson
64	1949	Herbert John Gough
65	1950	Stanley Fabes Dorey
66	1951	Arthur Clifford Hartley	Chief engineer, Anglo-Iranian Oil co. Inventor, Pluto and Fido
67	1952	Sir David Randall Pye
68	1953	Alfred Roebuck
69	1954	Richard William Bailey
70	1955	Percy Lewis Jones
71	1956	Thomas Arkle Crowe
72	1957	George Nelson
73	1958	Air Marshal Sir Robert Owen Jones
74	1959	Herbert Desmond Carter
75	1960	Sir Owen Alfred Saunders
76	1961	Sir Charles Hague
77	1962	John Hereward Pitchford
78	1963	Roland Curling Bond	Railway engineer
79	1964	Vice-Admiral Sir Frank Mason
80	1965	Harold Norman Gwynne Allen
81	1966	Lord Christopher Hinton of Bankside	Pioneer of nuclear power
82	1967	Hugh Graham Conway
83	1968	Sir Arnold Lewis George Lindley
84	1969	Donald Frederick Galloway
85	1970	John Lamb Murray Morrison
86	1971	Robert Lank Lickley
87	1972	Lord Donald Gresham Stokes	Chief executive, British Leyland
88	1973	Sir John William Atwell
89	1974	Sir St John de Hold Elstub
90	1975	Paul Thomas Fletcher
91	1976	Ewen McEwen
92	1977	Sir Hugh Ford	Professor of mechanical engineering, Imperial College London
93	1978	Diarmuid Downs
94	1979	James Gordon Dawson
95	1980	Bryan Hildrew
96	1981	Francis David Penny
97	1982	Victor John Osola/Vaino Junani Osola
98	1983	George Fritz Werner Adler
99	1984	Waheeb Rizk
100	1985	Sir Philip Foreman
101	1986	Sir Bernard Crossland
102	1987	Oscar Roith
103	1988	Cecil Charles John French
104	1989	Roy Ernest James Roberts
105	1990	Michael Cooper Neale
106	1991	Duncan Dowson
107	1992	Tom D. Patten
108	1993	Anthony Albert Denton
109	1994	Brian Hamilton Kent
110	1995	Frank Christopher Price
111	1996	Robert William Ernest Shannon
112	1997	Pamela Liversidge
113	1998	John Spence (engineer)
114	1999	James McKnight
115	2000	Denis E. Filer
116	2001	Tony Roche
117	2002	John McDougall
117	2003	Chris Taylor
119	2004	William Edgar	Biography pdf.
120	2005	Andrew Ives	Biography pdf.
121	2006	W Alec Osborn MBE	Presidential Address pdf.	Biography.>} See also * Institution of Civil Engineers * Institution of Electrical Engineers * James Watt International Medal References * Robert H. Parsons, A History of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1847â€"1947 * John Pullin, Progress Through Mechanical Engineering (1997) External links * Official website ** About page ** Forthcoming conferences and events page Related Articles • George Washington, First President of the United States • Mechanical Engineers - Profile of Mechanical Engineers - All About Mechanical Engineers • George Washington - Fast Facts - First President George Washington • Engineer - Career Information • Question - How did George Washington get elected to be the first president Email this page