HISTORY OF IoIC

1951

A Scottish branch of BAIE is inaugurated.

1954

The first National House Journal Competition attracts 124 entries – a figure that will more than double by the end of the decade.

1959

BAIE has more than 500 members. There are four active regions: North; South West; Midlands; and London and Home Counties.

Good two-way communication – and I say two-way, because to look upon journals as entirely a mouthpiece of management, is, I think, wrong – in this age, where big organisations are spread all over the world, is essential to enlightened management.
HRH Duke of Edinburgh proposes the toast at the Association’s 10th anniversary luncheon at the Dorchester Hotel in London, attended by 460 people
1959

IN THE WORKPLACE

1954

IBM creates FORTRAN, the first widely used computer programming language to have a functional implementation.

1955

Following the Television Act, advertising-funded commercial television companies begin broadcasting, breaking the BBC’s monopoly.

1959

The Unimate robotic arm is used in factory automation for the first time, in a General Motors plant in New Jersey. It will be mass produced from 1961.

PRICE OF A LOAF OF BREAD

1949 £0.02 (£0.71)
1969 £0.08 (£1.37)
1989 £0.62 (£1.64)
2009 £1.25 (£1.64)
2019 £1.10
Amount in today’s money in brackets

WORLD EVENTS

1950

Come Dancing, a televised ballroom competition show, launches on BBC in 1950. It will run for 48 years.

1953

The structure of DNA, the genetic make-up of humans that can be passed to children, is first outlined by scientists James Watson and Francis Crick.

1953

20.4 million people in the UK watch the Queen’s coronation on 2 June, even though there are only 2.7 million TV sets in homes.

1958

The M6 Preston opens, the first route of the UK’s motorway system. The M1, between Watford and Birmingham, will open in 1959.

LICENSED VEHICLES ON UK ROADS

19504.2 million
201838.4 million