IET celebrates 140th anniversary

Europe's largest professional engineers' body, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), based in Stevenage, is celebrating its 140th anniversary.

The IET started life as the Society of Telegraph Engineers on 17 May 1871 at a meeting held in London attended by eight people. Today, the IET has over 150,000 members in 127 countries around the world, and provides a professional home for life for its members, supporting them throughout their careers.

The IET employs 430 staff at its headquarters at Michael Faraday House, which opened in 1991. To mark the anniversary, IET Chief Executive, Nigel Fine has today (17 May) cut a special cake - 140 years to the day that the organisation came into existence.

Cake cutting ceremonies took place in the IET's offices in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangalore. A series of events are planned over the coming months to mark the IET's 140th anniversary.