In 1818 a small group of young engineers met in a London coffee shop and founded the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the world’s first professional engineering body.

They had hoped that lots of engineers from different engineering backgrounds would join the institution. However, civil engineering hadn't really become an official profession yet. Before the 18th century most engineers were in the armed forces.

After two years of struggling to attract new members, ICE asked Thomas Telford to become its first President. Telford’s appointment gave the institution a boost and played a huge part in shaping ICE as it is today. ICE was granted a Royal Charter in 1828 and has subsequently become home to many of history’s greatest engineers as presidents and members. Today it has 92,000 members around the world.