Institution of Civil Engineers

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association and learned society for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom, based in London. It was founded as the world's first professional engineering body, on the initiative of eight young engineers who held an inaugural meeting on 2 January 1818 at the Kendal Coffee House in Fleet Street. It made little headway until Thomas Telford became its first President, and it received a royal charter in 1828. The Institution moved to Great George Street in Westminster in 1839, published learned papers on engineering topics, and by the end of the nineteenth century had introduced examinations for professional qualification. It still sets standards for membership, awards professional qualifications and publishes technical journals and books.