This is the first volume of a series of edited books whose aim is to collect contributed papers in a framework that can serve as a dictionary of names of individuals who have made contributions to the discipline of MMS (Me- anism and Machine Science). This dictionary project has the peculiarity that, through descriptions of the ideas and work of these individuals, the papers will illustrate mainly technical developments in the historical evolution of the individual fields that today define the scope of MMS. Thus the core of each contribution will be a survey of biographical notes describing the efforts and experiences of these people. Finding appropriate technical experts as authors for such papers and - couraging them to write them has been a challenge; it is a demanding and time-consuming effort to produce such in-depth articles that delve deeply into the historical background of their topics of expertise. This first volume of the dictionary project has been possible thanks to the invited authors who have enthusiastically shared the initiative and have spent time and effort in prep- ing papers that have the novel characteristics of survey and historical notes. The papers in this volume cover the wide field of the History of Mechanical Engineering with specific focus on MMS. I believe that a reader who takes advantage of the papers in this book, as well as future ones, will find further satisfaction and motivation for her or his work (historical or not).