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Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines: A new look at the history of women in engr

Duration: 55 mins
Publication date: 25 Jun 2021

Abstract

In this webinar, author Henrietta Heald talks about her fascinating book, Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines, which looks at the pioneering women who guided and influenced the Women's Engineering Society from its foundation in 1919. In a wide ranging interview with the IET Library and Archives Manager, Anne Locker, Henrietta discusses the inspiring lives and friendships of women engineers in the early part of the twentieth century and their creation of the world’s first professional organisation dedicated to the campaign for women’s rights. They also discuss using original archives for research, and what history can teach us about the challenges facing women in engineering and technology today.

This event will be chaired by Dr Elizabeth Bruton, Curator of Engineering and Technology at the Science Museum.

Keywords:: 19th century engineering

20th century engineering

Henrietta Heald

IET Archives

Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines

Women in engineering

Women's Engineering Society

campaign for women’s rights

engineering and technology

the history of women in science and technology

women's engineering

Channels

Manufacturing

Manufacturing

Transport

Transport

Speakers

Henrietta Heald

Writer, Book Editor and Heritage Campaigner

Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines, my centenary history of the Woman's Engineering Society (WES), was published in paperback by Unbound in March 2021 to mark Women's History Month. It's important not only for the fascinating stories about women engineers of the past – and what an amazing crew they were – but also because of its signposts to fantastic and rewarding careers for women today. WES, founded in 1919, was the first professional organisation in the world dedicated to the campaign for women's rights.I had a long and successful career as a senior editor in book publishing before becoming a writer myself. Notable achievements included the commissioning of The Periodic Table by Primo Levi.My first book – William Armstrong, Magician of the North, a biography of a neglected Victorian 'giant' – was shortlisted for the Portico Prize and the H. W. Fisher Best First Biography Prize.Magician of the North has led me to head up a campaign to restore and regenerate Jesmond Dene and the Banqueting Hall, a unique public park and beautiful Victorian building in Newcastle upon Tyne.I was chief editor of Chronicle of Britain and Ireland and Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Britain's Coast. My other books include Coastal Living, La Vie est Belle, and a National Trust guide to Cragside, Northumberland.
Dr Elizabeth Bruton

Science Museum

I am Curator of Technology and Engineering at the Science Museum, London. Previous roles include Heritage Officer at Jodrell Bank; co-Curator / researcher for HLF-funded project "Harry's Story: Henry Moseley, a scientist lost to war" at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford; and 2014-2015 Byrne-Bussey Marconi Fellowship at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford; and postdoctoral researcher for the AHRC-funded "Innovating in Combat: Telecommunications and intellectual property in the First World War" at the University of Leeds.Between 2009 and early 2013, I undertook an AHRC-funded PhD at the Centre for the History & Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds on "Beyond Marconi: the roles of the Admiralty, the Post Office, and the Institution of Electrical Engineers in the invention and development of wireless communication up to 1908", working with IET and BT archives and with supervision from Professor Graeme Gooday and Dr Stephen Lax.From 2004 to 2005, I did a Masters in history of science at the Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford and produced a dissertation on "Marconi Wireless Telegraphy in the British Army during World War One". After my masters, I catalogued and researched the Marconi Collection at the museum and contributed research to the 2006 exhibition "Wireless World: Marconi & the making of radio" and the permanent display of the collection and also delivered public lectures at the museum.I am a passionate and experienced public speaker with numerous media appearances including BBC 2's "The Genius of Invention" (2013), BBC 4's "Shock and Awe: The History of Electricity" (2011), BBC Radio 4's "In Our Time" episode on the invention of radio (2013), BBC Radio 4's "Seven Ages of Science" episode on science in war (2013), and others.
Anne Locker

IET, IET Library and Archives Manager