The Academy's history
Conceived in the late 1960s, during the excitement of the Apollo programme and the buzz of Harold Wilson’s ‘white heat of technology’, the Royal Academy of Engineering was born in 1976, the year of Concorde’s first commercial flight. Since then, it has continued to champion excellence in all fields of engineering and honoured the UK’s most distinguished engineers along with those making an impact around the globe.
Origins
Initially called the Fellowship of Engineering, it had the enthusiastic backing of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became its Senior Fellow. The new Fellowship met for the first time on 11 June 1976 at Buckingham Palace, where 130 of the UK’s finest engineers were enrolled – people who over the course of their careers had literally changed the world. Engineers like the jet engine visionary Sir Frank Whittle, design guru Sir Ove Arup, radar pioneer Sir George MacFarlane, bouncing bomb inventor Sir Barnes Wallis, and Sir Maurice Wilkes, father of the UK computer industry. There were also people who were yet to do their greatest work, like Sir Frederick Warner, who would lead the first international inspection team into Chernobyl after the catastrophic meltdown in 1986. Lord Hinton, who had driven the UK’s supremacy in nuclear power, was appointed its first President.
Our history
Past Presidents
In its history, the Academy has had 10 presidents, including the current holder of the office, Sir Jim McDonald GBE FREng FRSE, who was elected in 2019. Each President is elected by the Governing Council to serve a term of usually five years.
1976 to 1981: Lord Hinton of Bankside OM KBE FRS FEng
1981 to 1986: Viscount Caldecote KBE DSC DL FREng
1986 to 1991: Sir Denis Rooke OM CBE FREng FRS
1991 to 1996: Sir William Barlow FREng
1996 to 2001: Sir David Davies CBE FREng FRS
2001 to 2006: Lord Broers FREng HonFMedSci FRS
2006 to 2011: Lord Browne of Madingley FREng FRS
2011 to 2014: Sir John Parker GBE FREng
2014 to 2019: Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE FREng FRS
2019 to present: Sir Jim McDonald GBE FREng FRSE
Origins of the Academy book
Origins of the Royal Academy of Engineering explores the Academy’s prehistory, written by Dr Peter Collins, Emeritus Director of the Royal Society. Collins uses a wide range of archival material to analyse the problems that the Academy’s creation intended to solve. He describes how a national academy for engineering was, eventually, accepted as the way forward before its launch as The Fellowship of Engineering in 1976.
An Academy dedicated to engineering had been a possibility for almost two decades. For far longer than that, the various professional engineering institutions in the UK had been debating how engineering could present a unified face to the world and secure the status in the national affairs that it merited. Its creation was mainly down to a small group of visionary and energetic individuals.
This book tells the story behind this episode of institutional history and human behaviour. It is available for £30 +P&P – to buy a copy, please email publications@raeng.org.uk