Editing Institute of Physics (section)

==History==
[[File:Frederick_Guthrie.png|thumb|[[Frederick Guthrie (scientist)|Frederick Guthrie]] founded the Physical Society of London.]]
[[File:Portrait of John Hall Gladstone (1827-1902), Chemist (2550981271).jpg|thumb|[[John Hall Gladstone]], the first President of the [[Physical Society of London]].]]
[[File:Cockcroft.jpg|thumb|[[John Cockcroft]], the first president of the merged societies.]]
[[File:Launch of IYA 2009, Paris - Grygar, Bell Burnell cropped.jpg|thumb|[[Jocelyn Bell Burnell]], the first female president of the IOP, donated £2.3 million to the IOP to establish the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund]]

The Institute of Physics was formed in 1960 from the merger of the [[Physical Society of London|Physical Society]], founded as the Physical Society of London in 1874, and the Institute of Physics, founded in 1918.<ref name=PhysicalSociety1874-2002/><ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1088/0031-9112/25/1/011|title = Message from the President: Past, present and future|journal = Physics Bulletin|volume = 25|pages = 8|year = 1974|last1 = Flowers|first1 = Brian}}</ref>

The Physical Society of London had been officially formed on 14 February 1874 by [[Frederick Guthrie (scientist)|Frederick Guthrie]], following the canvassing of opinion of Fellows of the [[Royal Society]] by the physicist and parapsychologist Sir [[William F. Barrett|William Barrett]] at the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science]] meeting in Bradford in 1873, with [[John Hall Gladstone]] as its first president.<ref name=PhysicalSociety1874-2002/> From its beginning, the society held open meetings and demonstrations and published ''[[Proceedings of the Physical Society]]''.<ref name=PhysicalSociety1874-2002/> Meetings were held every two weeks, mainly at [[Imperial College London]]. The first [[Guthrie lecture]], now known as the Faraday Medal and Prize, was delivered in 1914.

In the early part of the 20th century, the profession of "[[physicist]]" emerged, partly as a result of the increased demand for scientists during the [[First World War]]. In 1917, following discussions between [[William Eccles (physicist)|William Eccles]] and [[William Duddell]], the Council of the Physical Society, along with the [[Faraday Society]], the [[Optical Society (London)|Optical Society]], and the [[Roentgen Society]], started to explore ways of improving the professional status of physicists,<ref name=iophistory/> and in 1918, the Institute of Physics was created at a meeting of the four societies held at [[King's College London]].<ref name=PhysicalSociety1874-2002/> In 1919, Sir [[Richard Glazebrook]] was elected first president of the institute,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npl.co.uk/educate-explore/history-of-npl/npl-directors/sir-richard-tetley-glazebrook|title=Sir Richard Tetley Glazebrook|publisher=National Physical Laboratory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330162927/http://www.npl.co.uk/educate-explore/history-of-npl/npl-directors/sir-richard-tetley-glazebrook|archive-date=30 March 2012|access-date=12 January 2019}}</ref> and the inaugural meeting of the Institute took place in 1921.<ref name=PhysicalSociety1874-2002/> As with the Physical Society, dissemination of knowledge was fundamental to the institute, which began publication of the ''[[Journal of Scientific Instruments]]'' in 1922.<ref name=iophistory/> The annual ''[[Reports on Progress in Physics]]'' began in 1934<ref name=PhysicalSociety1874-2002/> and is still published today. In 1952, the institute began the "Graduateship" course and examination, which ran until 1984 when the expansion of access to universities removed demand.<ref name=iophistory/>

In 1932, the Physical Society of London merged with the Optical Society to create the Physical Society. In 1960, the Physical Society and the Institute of Physics merged, creating a single organization with the name ''The Institute of Physics and the Physical Society'', with John Cockcroft elected at its first president. The new society combined the [[learned society]] tradition of the Physical Society with the professional body tradition of the Institute of Physics.<ref name="iophistory"/> Under the leadership of [[Thomas E. Nevin]], an Irish branch of the Institute of Physics was formed in 1964.<ref name=40th_anniversary>[http://www.iopireland.org/about/history/index.html About Us: Early History of IOP in Ireland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519032345/http://www.iopireland.org/about/history/index.html |date=2018-05-19 }} Foundation of the Irish branch</ref> Upon being granted a [[royal charter]] in 1970, the organization was renamed as the Institute of Physics.<ref name="IOP Royal Charter">{{cite web |url=http://www.iop.org/about/royal_charter/file_38390.pdf |title=Institute of Physics Charter and Bylaws |access-date=29 December 2019 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002204/http://www.iop.org/about/royal_charter/file_38390.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>