HONORARY FELLOWS
We have an illustrious list of over 200 Honorary Fellows drawn from across the disciplines of science and engineering.
The first Honorary Fellowships were awarded in 1866. Recipients were known as Honorary Members until that term was replaced with Honorary Fellow in 1968.
From 22 countries, our Honorary Fellows represent the international nature of engineering, including Gustav Eiffel from France: others hail from China, Japan, New Zealand, America, India and the Netherlands.
Inventive engineers figure highly among our Honorary Fellows. By inventing the gas turbine and the jet engine respectively, Sir Charles Algernon Parsons and Sir Frank Whittle helped to usher in the modern world with their contributions to the
invention of the steam turbine and jet engine. Other famous inventors include: Dr Frederick William Lanchester, early car producer and innovator; Orville Wright of the Wright brothers; and Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, inventor of the 'bouncing'
bomb.
Eight Nobel Laureates also figure, including John William Strutt, co-discover of argon who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904.
Added to these are seven royal personages including King Charles III, and one Prime Minster: Ramsay MacDonald.
The first women elected was Beryl Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle (MP) in 1984.