1851

Samuel Smith founds his London family clock and watch making business.

1904

Development of the first British speedometer for the emerging motor industry, which became a core activity for the next 80 years and a considerable automotive manufacturing business.

1917

During the First World War, the product range is extended considerably, most significantly with the purchase of an airspeed indicator invention.

1929

Aircraft Instruments Department formed, and an aircraft instrumentation facility constructed.

1930s

First electrical fuel gauge, electrical thermometers, oil pressure gauges and the Smiths Desynn system of remote indication, standard equipment on most British built aircraft, added to range.

1944

Smiths Aircraft Instruments Ltd set up.

1958

Combined with Kelvin Hughes, a specialist marine activity, to become Smiths Aviation and Marine.

1961

Separate aviation division formed, received immediate boost with the first ever order from Boeing for British instrumentation, the Smiths machmeter, fitted on the 727.

1962

Technical services (repair and refit) centre set up at Heathrow Airport to provide product servicing.

1966

Renamed Smiths Industries Ltd, company gained international recognition for its electrical engineering when a Trident test aircraft, equipped with a Smiths autopilot, became the first civil airliner to land in thick fog under fully automatic control.

Specto Avionics, a small pioneering company that developed the first head up display, acquired in the drive to serve the military market.

1987

Acquisition of the US avionics businesses of Lear Siegler Holdings Corp - with world leadership in a number of product areas, a major position with Boeing, and a new business retrofitting modern avionics systems to US aircraft worldwide - helps aerospace become Smiths' major core business.

1997

1999

Acquisition of BAE Systems' Marconi actuation systems division and Fairchild Dynamics, broadened Smiths' avionics activities and product range into equipment for chemical and biological detection, and mechanical systems and components.

Further acquisitions of Graseby, the aerospace division of Invensys.

2000

The merger in December 2000 of the parent company with TI Group doubled the size of the aerospace business. It brought together two powerful industry players, Smiths Industries Aerospace and TI's Dowty Group, a company with world leadership in hydraulic and actuation systems, advanced propeller systems, turbine engine components and tubular systems, as well as the Hamble aircraft structures business.

2001

Official launch at the Paris Air Show of the new international force in the aerospace equipment industry created by the merger - Smiths Aerospace.

2007

May 2007 Smiths Aerospace officially becomes part of GE. The former Smiths Aerospace business in Digital, Electrical Power, Mechanical and Customer Services will become the Systems division of GE. Smiths Aerospace Components will become Unison Engine Components within GE.