Dining and discussion club for civil engineers
Smeatonian Society of Civil EngineersPredecessor | The Society of Civil Engineers |
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Established | 1771 |
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Founder |
John Smeaton,
Robert Mylne and five others |
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Type | Civil engineering professional association |
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Headquarters | London |
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Membership | approx 85 |
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Key people | - Tony Roche, President
- Professor Roderick Muttram, Honorary Treasurer
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Website |
www.smeatonians.org |
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The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in England in 1771. It was the first engineering society to be formed anywhere in the world, and remains the oldest. It was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed following its founder's death.
[1]
History
The first known formal meeting of civil engineers in Britain took place at the King's Head tavern in Holborn, London, on 15 March 1771, when seven of the leading engineers of the time agreed to establish a Society of Civil Engineers. The leading light of the new Society was
John Smeaton who was the first engineer to describe himself as a "Civil Engineer", having coined the term to distinguish himself from the military engineers graduating from the
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich.
[2] The other founding members were
Thomas Yeoman,
Robert Mylne, Joseph Nickalls,
John Grundy, John Thompson and James King. In the first year they were joined by John Golborne, William Black,
Robert Whitworth and
Hugh Henshall, and these eleven were known as the Original Members.
[3]
When the Society was founded its title was the "Society of Civil Engineers". When
William Mylne started a new Minute Book in 1822 he used the heading "Engineers' Society" in the reports of each session until 1869, when he changed it to "Smeatonian Society". The Rules and Regulations issued in 1830 bore the title "Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers" for the first time, which has been its title ever since.
[4] Major Henry Watson was the first military engineer to be elected to membership in 1774.
[4]
Eventually the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers became more of a dining club and a group of younger engineers began to demand a better grouping to aid their profession and the
Institution of Civil Engineers was formed in 1818.
The unveiling of a memorial stone to Smeaton in
Westminster Abbey on 7 November 1994, by Noel Ordman, President,
[5] was described in
The Times as 'a triumph for the Smeatonian Society'.
[6] Smeaton is also one of six civil engineers depicted in the
Stephenson stained glass window, designed by
William Wailes and unveiled in 1862.
[7]
Present day
The Society continues to this day, mainly as a dining and discussion club of around sixty senior professional engineers, 'distinguished for their work in the theory or practice of design, manufacture, construction or management in the various fields of engineering', up to eighteen retired Members Emeritus and up to fifteen Honorary Members. The late
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (elected 1953) served as president in 1971 and was an active participant until 2017.
Anne, Princess Royal (elected 2017) accepted the invitation to be 2021 president, fifty years after her father, and on 8 September 2021 presided at the Society's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary dinner at
Trinity House,
Tower Hill.
[8]
[9] Since 1975 the Society has often met at the headquarters of the
Institution of Civil Engineers.
[2]
Mottos
The Latin motto "Omnia in Numero, Pondere et Mensura" was added to the summons card in 1793; it is adapted from Wisdom of Solomon 11:20 "(Thou hast ordered) all things by number, weight and measure". The proposal of the Reverend
William Whewell (Honorary Member 1836) at a meeting on 14 June 1843 was accepted, that a Greek motto (probably from Aristotle) should be added to the summons card: "Τεχνη κρατουμεν ὢν φυσει νικωμεθα" "By Art we master what would master us".
[4] Both mottos are still in use.
Historical membership classes
From 1793 the renewed Society was to be "for promoting and communicating every branch of knowledge useful and necessary to the various and important branches of public and private works in civil engineering".
[4] There were three classes of membership:
[4]
First Class - "those who are actually employed in Designing, & forming, Works of different kinds, in the Various Departments of Engineering".
Second Class - "Men of Science and Gentlemen of Fame and Fortune" (Honorary Members).
Third Class - "Various Artists, whose professions and employments, are necessary & useful thereto as well as connected with Civil Engineering" (Honorary Members).
Women elected include
Jean Venables (2003),
Joanna Kennedy (2006), Julia Elton
FSA (Honorary 2010), Dame
Julia Higgins (2012),
Bridget Rosewell (Honorary 2016), Dame
Ann Dowling (2017), Dame
Helen Atkinson (2017), Dame
Judith Hackitt (2018),
Faith Wainwright (2019), Sue Kershaw (2021), Michele Dix (2022), Elaine Martin (2022), Julie Bregulla (2022) and
Dervilla Mitchell (2022).
[10]
Presidents
The following is a list of presidents of the Society from its inception. Honorary Members are shown in italics. In 1793 the Society was reconstituted without a President. The post was reintroduced as an annually elected position in 1841:
[4]
- 1771
Thomas Yeoman
- 1781 Christopher Pinchbeck
- 1783
Joseph Nickalls
- 1841
Sir John Rennie
- 1842
William Chadwell Mylne
- 1843
Bryan Donkin
- 1844
George Rennie
- 1845
William Cubitt
- 1846 Dr
Peter Mark Roget, MD
- 1847
Robert Stephenson
- 1848
Joshua Field
- 1849
John Taylor
- 1850
James Simpson
- 1851 Thomas Lloyd
- 1852
James Walker
- 1853
Charles Blacker Vignoles
- 1854
Joseph Baxendale
- 1855
Sir John Rennie(2nd term)
- 1856
Robert Stephenson (2nd term)
- 1857
John Hawkshaw
- 1858 Henry Wollaston Blake
- 1859
William Chadwell Mylne (2nd term)
- 1860 John Murray
- 1861
William Gravatt
- 1862
Charles Hutton Gregory
- 1863 Captain
John Lintorn Arabin Simmons, RE
- 1864
William Lindley
- 1865
Peter William Barlow
- 1866
Charles Blacker Vignoles (2nd term)
- 1867
Alfred Giles
- 1868
John Fowler
- 1869
John Penn
- 1870 Col.
William Francis Drummond Jervois, RE
- 1871
John Frederic La Trobe Bateman
- 1872 Bryan Donkin
- 1873 George Banks Rennie
- 1874 Dr
John Percy, MD
- 1875
William Henry Barlow
- 1876 Sir
Joseph William Bazalgette
- 1877
James Abernethy
- 1878
James Brunlees
- 1879
Charles William Siemens
- 1880 No president elected
- 1881
Warington Wilkinson Smyth
- 1882
George Barclay Bruce
- 1883 Sir
Frederick Joseph Bramwell
- 1884
Edward Woods
- 1885
Thomas Hawksley
- 1886 Sir
Frederick Augustus Abel
- 1887
Robert Joseph Rawlinson
- 1888 Col. Sir
William Crossman, RE
- 1889
John Clarke Hawkshaw
- 1890
Richard Boxall Grantham
- 1891 Field Marshal Sir
John Lintorn Arabin Simmons, RE (2nd term)
- 1892
John Wolfe Barry
- 1893
Samuel Pope, QC
- 1894
Benjamin Baker
- 1895
Henry Marc Brunel
- 1896 Captain
Douglas Galton, RE
- 1897
Frank McClean
- 1898
William Henry Preece
- 1899 Captain
Sir Andrew Noble, RA
- 1900 Sir
William Henry White
- 1901
Francis Willam Webb
- 1902
James Dewar
- 1903
Percy George Buchanan Westmacott
- 1904 Sir
Alexander Richardson Binnie
- 1905 George Chatterton
- 1906
Alexander Siemens
- 1907
George Neill Abernethy
- 1908
Alexander Blackie William Kennedy
- 1909
George Frederick Deacon
- 1910
Cuthbert Andrew Brereton
- 1911
Charles Hawksley
- 1912
George Robert Jebb
- 1913
William Cawthorne Unwin
- 1914 Sir
Philip Watts
- 1915-18 No president
- 1919
John Hutton Balfour Browne, KC
- 1920
Saxton William Armstrong Noble
- 1921 John Strain
- 1922
John Harvard Biles
- 1923 Sir
Robert Elliott-Cooper
- 1924
Maurice Fitzmaurice
- 1925
Alan Archibald Campbell Swinton
- 1926
Henry Reginald Arnulph Mallock
- 1927
John Assheton Rennie
- 1928
William Barton Worthington
- 1929 Engineer Vice Admiral
Henry John Oram
- 1930
John Henry Tudsbery Tudsbery
- 1931 Sir
John Audley Frederick Aspinall
- 1932 Sir
Archibald Denny, Bart
- 1933
Kenneth Alfred Wolfe Barry
- 1934 Sir
Charles Langbridge Morgan
- 1935
William Vaux Graham
- 1936
Ernest Frederic Crosbie Trench
- 1937
Charles Pratt Sparks
- 1938
John McFarlane Kennedy
- 1939
Thomas Garmondsway Wrightson
- 1940 No president
- 1941 Sir
Westcott Stile Abell
- 1942
Sir Eustace Henry Tennyson-d'Eyncourt, Bart
- 1943
Maurice Fitzgerald Wilson
- 1944 Sir
John Edward Thornycroft
- 1945 Sir
Richard Augustine Studdart Redmayne
- 1946
William James Eames Binnie
- 1947
Sir Alexander Gibb
- 1948 Sir
Leopold Halliday Savile
- 1949
Sydney Bryan Donkin
- 1950 Sir
Cyril Reginald Sutton Kirkpatrick
- 1951 Engineer Vice Admiral Sir
Reginald William Skelton
- 1952 Sir
Murdoch MacDonald, MP
- 1953 Sir
David Anderson
- 1954 Sir
William Thomson Halcrow
- 1955 Lieutenant Colonel Sir
Jonathan Robertson Davidson
- 1956
Marmaduke Tudsbery Tudsbery (Member Emeritus)
- 1957
Vernon Alec Murray Robertson
- 1958
Thomas Edwin Hawksley
- 1959 Sir
Allan Stephen Quartermaine
- 1960 Major
William Henry Morgan
- 1961 Brigadier Sir
Bruce Gordon White
- 1962
William Kelly Wallace
- 1963
Reginald Duncan Gwyther
- 1964
John Garmondsway Wrightson
- 1965
John Sunderland Langdale Train
- 1966 Sir
George Matthew McNaughton
- 1967 Vice Admiral (E) Sir
Denys Chester Ford
- 1968
David Mowat Watson
- 1969 Sir
William Henry Glanville
- 1970
Geoffrey Morse Binnie (Member Emeritus)
- 1971
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- 1972
Reginald William Mountain
- 1973 Sir
Harold John Boyer Harding (Member Emeritus)
- 1974
John Elliott George Palmer (Member Emeritus)
- 1975
Reginald White Hawkey
- 1976 Sir
Victor Shepheard (Member Emeritus)
- 1977 Vice Admiral Sir
Frank Trowbridge Mason
- 1978 Sir
Ralph Freeman (Member Emeritus)
- 1979
Cecil Robert Costeker Turner
- 1980 Sir
Thomas Angus Lyall Paton (Member Emeritus)
- 1981
Alec Westley Skempton (Member Emeritus)
- 1982
Douglas Cecil Coode (Member Emeritus)
- 1983 Sir
Eric Grant Yarrow, Bart
- 1984 Sir
William Gordon Harris
- 1985 Alfred Henry Cantrell
- 1986
John Walter Baxter
- 1987 Rear Admiral John Garth Watson
- 1988 Sir
William Kirby Laing
- 1989 Alan James Harris
- 1990
Edwin McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of Moffat (died 1990)
- 1990
Alan Mais, Baron Mais
- 1991 Arthur David Holland
- 1992 (Francis) David Penny
- 1993
John Vernon Bartlett
- 1994 N Noel B Ordman
- 1995 James G Wiltshire
- 1996
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Sir James Watt
- 1997
Henry Chilver, The Lord Chilver of Cranfield
- 1998 Vice-Admiral Sir
Philip Watson
- 1999
Peter Arthur Cox
- 2000
Sir Hugh Ford
- 2001
James Anthony Gaffney
- 2002 Major General Peter J M Pellereau
- 2003
Sir Diarmuid Downs
- 2004 Professor Jacques Heyman
- 2005 John C McKenzie
- 2006 Air Marshal Sir Charles Pringle
- 2007
Sir William McAlpine
- 2008
Sir Martin Laing
- 2009
David Gwilym Morris Roberts
- 2010
Sir John Parker
- 2011 Alastair J M Soane
- 2012 G Oliver Whitehead
- 2013 George Bartlett QC
- 2014
Alec Broers, Baron Broers
- 2015 John M Watson
- 2016
Robin L Wilson
- 2017 Sir Frederick W Crawford
- 2018 Robert Benaim
- 2019 Norman D Haste
- 2020
Douglas Oakervee
- 2021
The Princess Royal
- 2022
Sir John Armitt
- 2023
George Fleming
- 2024 Tony Roche
Notes
External links