Search Britain, Institution of Electrical Engineers
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Was your ancestor among the thousands of members of the Institute of Electrical Engineers? Finding your ancestor in these records means discovering someone who helped shape the modern world. These men and women were pioneers who carried electricity, communication, and engineering innovation into homes, factories, and cities across the globe. Explore over 100 years of obituaries and membership lists.
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With every record you will discover something new about your ancestor. The information was gathered by ‘Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History’ by using the Institution of Electrical Engineers publications. In each record you may find a combination of the following:
- Name
- Birth year
- Death year
- Obituary year
- Occupation
- Company
- Page title
Take your research further and click though to the original source page. You may find a full obituary which will tell you more about where your ancestor studied, details about their career, achievements, names of family members, burial place and in some cases, a photograph.
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The Institution of Electrical Engineers was a professional organisation representing the rising fields of manufacturing, electronics, and information technology. Its origins go back to 1871, when it was founded as the Society of Telegraph Engineers, reflecting the era’s most advanced communication technology. By 1890, the institution had grown to 1,760 members, and by 1919 that number had reached 7,792, showing how quickly the profession expanded.
The names in this collection come from the institution’s published material, including its obituary notices. Among the members were pioneering figures such as Nikola Tesla, Joseph Swan who invented the incandescent light bulb, Frederick Henry Royce, who co-founded Rolls-Royce and developed aeroplane engines during the Second World War, and Gertrude Lilian Entwisle, who became the first female associate member and worked with Vickers during the First World War to expand recruitment.
Members of the institution worked across Britain and around the world. Their workplaces ranged from the Armature Repair Co in Manchester, to Berry’s Electric in Birmingham and London, to the Bengal and Assam Railway in India. Together, they formed a global network of engineers whose work advanced the technologies that still shape our lives today.
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