Spirit of the ages

Opinion

It won’t have escaped the notice of readers of The Engineer magazine that 2006 marks the 150th anniversary of one of Britain’s oldest professional journals - indeed, one of the country’s oldest publications of any kind.

We have been reminding them of the fact all year, and this week produced a special anniversary edition to celebrate the fact.

Of course The Engineer is about more than paper and ink these days, which is why we are delighted to invite users of The Engineer Online, now a firmly-established and important part of The Engineer family, to join in the party.

The power of the internet is amply demonstrated by the way in which we have been able to use it to bring some of The Engineer’s past to life.

In our special 150 Years section you will find access to reproductions in pdf form of original articles from some of the highlights of The Engineer’s century and a half-long odyssey, from the very first issue in 1856 to the birth of the microcomputer in the 1970s.

Along the way the magazine covered many of the developments we now take for granted - the motor car, the telephone, the television and the jet engine to name but a few.

It also recorded some of history’s epic moments – the Titanic, the Second World War, the launch of Sputnik and later Apollo 11.

And in the run up to this year’s FA Cup Final, and its very public non-staging at the new Wembley, many of you might be interested to read a first hand account of the first Wembley Stadium - completed AHEAD of schedule especially for the 1923 final. What did they do then that we can’t do now?

To see the full list of original articles visit theengineer.co.uk/150years

1904: The first Rover

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/294351/October+1904+The+First+Rover.htm

1912: The Titanic

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/294353/April+1912+The+Titanic.htm

1923: The first Wembley Stadium, Do you have World Cup fever?

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/294354/April+1923+The+first+Wembley+Stadium.htm

1942: The Rolls Royce Merlin Engine

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/294365/December+1942+The+Rolls-Royce+Merlin+engine.htm

Also look out for

The Great Eastern, Concorde, Edison's Light Bulb, Marconi's Wireless, Radar, etc

We would welcome your comments and feedback.

Andrew Lee
Editor
The Engineer & The Engineer Online