Category: Women

Automotive, Cars and Bikes, Library, Women

FROM THE GALLERY: CARS AND HOW TO DRIVE THEM (1903)

The IMechE Library has been providing an information service to members since at least 1877, even before the Institution moved into its current location in One Birdcage Walk. It still holds many early engineering works, most of which are now located on the galleries which surround the library room. This series of posts looks at the fascinating stories these works can tell about history of … Continue reading FROM THE GALLERY: CARS AND HOW TO DRIVE THEM (1903)

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Archives, Library, Women

HISTORY DAY 2018

A chance for students and researchers to discover more about available research collections, History Day 2018 will feature a joint offering from IMechE, IET, IOM3 and The Aeronautical Society (The Engineering Institutions’ Librarians’ Committee). This year we are throwing a spotlight on our first female members and our membership holdings. Book now for History Day! Founded in 1866, The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain (later … Continue reading HISTORY DAY 2018

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WWI engineering workshop
Archives, Members, Virtual Archive, Women

CELEBRATING WOMEN

International Women in Engineering Day is a global celebration of women past, present and future. As was the case in many professions, female pioneers in mechanical engineering had to work hard to break into a male dominated profession. The issue of women members was first raised in the Institution of Automobile Engineers (IAE) in May 1907. Miss Cleone de Heveningham Benest (1880-1963) wrote to find out … Continue reading CELEBRATING WOMEN

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WWI engineering workshop
Archives, Manufacturing, Members, Virtual Archive, Women

EMPOWERING WOMEN

This week marks 100 years since (some) women got the vote in this country. It is also 100 years since a woman first presented a paper at the Institution. Olive Monkhouse talked about The Employment of Women in Munitions Factories. World War I brought with it a huge increase in demand for munitions, at the same time the workforce was reduced by men signing up … Continue reading EMPOWERING WOMEN

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Cars and Bikes, Virtual Archive, Women

WOMEN RIDERS

Kitty May Brunell was one of a clutch of women motorsport riders in the 1920s-1930s. Born in 1911, Kitty grew up surrounded by racing. Her father was Bill Brunell (officially William Joseph Brunell), a well-known photographer of motorsports. Her mother was Katie Margaret Meech. Brunell officially began rallying in 1928, she was only seventeen at the time, but it seems she stopped around 1933. Despite … Continue reading WOMEN RIDERS

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Women factory workers 1917
Members, Women

CLAUDIA & VERENA

Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines Guest blog from Henrietta Heald Loughborough University’s Pioneering Women: There must be some sort of creative magic in the air of Loughborough. This thought occurred to me last week when I heard that two 16-year-old schoolboys from the Leicestershire town had been jointly awarded the title Young Engineer of the Year. Sankha Kahagala-Gamage and David Bernstein won the prize for inventing a vest … Continue reading CLAUDIA & VERENA

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Lovelace's diagram from Note G, the first published computer algorithm
Archives, Women

ADA LOVELACE DAY

11th Oct 2016 is Ada Lovelace Day (ALD). It is an international day of celebration of women’s achievements in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The day aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and thereby create new role models who will encourage more girls into STEM careers. One way of doing this is through providing resources for schools. It also aims to support women currently … Continue reading ADA LOVELACE DAY

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Christian Friedrich Lautenschlager in a Mercedes in the 1914 French Grand Prix
Air, Archives, Cars and Bikes, Construction and Structures, Energy and Power, Lanchester, Manufacturing, Members, Museum, Railway, Shipping and Boats, Women

IMAGE LIBRARY ONLINE

Planes, trains and automobiles: mechanical engineering archives now online Over 1900 images from the archives and historic book collection of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) are now available online via VADS. From pictures of experimental cars, aeroplanes, engine designs, engineers portraits, railway locomotives and much more. Highlights include works of art of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, images of Napier engines, design drawings of … Continue reading IMAGE LIBRARY ONLINE

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Girl with motorised bike, c1898
Cars and Bikes, Members, Women

EARLY MOTOR BICYCLES

  This picture of a very early British motor bicycle originally came from pioneer motorist Montague Graham White’s collection with the note that it was a Lawson 1898-1899 motor bicycle. It is of the first British made motor bicycle that went into production. The first catalogued motor bicycle was the Pennington designed New Beeston Family Motor Cycle, it was featured in their 1898 sales folder … Continue reading EARLY MOTOR BICYCLES

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Bhore Ghat Railway: Viaduct no.1 at 3 1/4 miles.
Archives, Railway, Women

BHORE GHAT

Today it is estimated that 2.2 billion people use the railway lines of Mumbai. The roots of this network lie 7,187 km away however, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway was incorporated by the British Parliament on 1st August 1849. It was to be the first railway in India to operate a commercial passenger service. On the 16th April 1853 the first train departed Mumbai (then … Continue reading BHORE GHAT

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