The British Institution of Civil Engineers is…
January 1818 CE
The late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century have seen the founding of many learned societies and professional bodies (for example, the Royal Society and the Law Society).
Groups calling themselves civil engineers had been meeting for some years from the late eighteenth century, notably the Society of Civil Engineers formed in 1771 by John Smeaton (renamed the Smeatonian Society after his death).
At this time, formal engineering in Britain is limited to the military engineers of the Corps of Royal Engineers, and in the spirit of self-help prevalent at the time and to provide a focus for the fledgling 'civilian engineers', the Institution of Civil Engineers is founded as the world's first professional engineering body.
The initiative to found the Institution is taken in 1818 by three young engineers, Henry Robinson Palmer, James Jones, and Joshua Field, who organize an inaugural meeting on January 2, 1818, at the Kendal Coffee House in Fleet Street.
The institution will make little headway until a key step is taken—the appointment of Thomas Telford as the first President of the body.
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