IEEE History Center IEEE History Center Creation and First
Decade of the Center for the History of Electrical Engineering,
1980-1989 Since the formation of IEEE in 1963 there has been a
standing History Committee responsible for promoting the
collection, writing and dissemination of historical information
in the fields covered by IEEE technical and professional
activities, as well as historical information about the IEEE and
its predecessor organizations. In 1979, the IEEE Board of
Directors endorsed the concept of a professionally staffed
history center to support the work of the IEEE History Committee
and allocated funds, and in 1980, the Center for the History of
Electrical Engineering was established in the New York offices
of the IEEE. For most of the first decade, the Center staff
consisted of a director, an archivist or curator, and a part-
time research assistant. The first director was Dr. Robert
Friedel, and Dr. Ronald Kline succeeded him in 1984. These
individuals and their staffs laid the groundwor