Metre Convention signed in Paris
- When
- 1875
- Where
- Paris
- Episodes
- 3
The Metre Convention, also known as the Treaty of the Metre, was signed in Paris on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen sovereign states. This international treaty established the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) under the authority of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) and the supervision of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM). These organizations coordinate international metrology and the development of internationally recognized systems of measurement.
Episodes
- Establishment of the BIPM
The treaty created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures as a permanent institution in France.
- Geodetic Standard Decision
The Permanent Commission of the European Arc Measurement decided to create an international geodetic standard calibrated against the metre.
- Signing of the Metre Convention
Representatives from seventeen countries signed the Convention of the Metre in Paris on 20 May 1875.
Background and detail
Background. Prior to the treaty, various countries had adopted the metric system between 1840 and 1870. The 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris saw the creation of a Committee for Weights and Measures and Monies, which called for international adoption. The International Metre Commission recommended the adoption of the metric system and the creation of a new international prototype metre, ensuring national standards could be compared with it.
Delegates and Negotiations. The principal tasks for delegates at the 1875 Diplomatic Conference were replacing existing metre and kilogram artefacts held by the French Government and setting up an organization to administer global standards. Although France lost control of the metric system, they ensured it passed to international rather than German control, with headquarters in Paris. Adolphe Hirsch, delegate of Switzerland, supported creating the BIPM in France as a permanent institution.
Technical Context. The treaty created the BIPM, an intergovernmental organization under the authority of the CGPM and supervision of the CIPM. These organizations coordinate international metrology. The Permanent Commission of the European Arc Measurement held its reunion in Paris in 1875, deciding to create an international geodetic standard for baselines' measurement calibrated against the metre.
People involved
- Adolphe Hirsch · Swiss delegate at the 1875 Diplomatic Conference on the Metre who supported creating the BIPM in France
- Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero · President of the Permanent Committee of the International Metre Commission who intervened with the French Academy of Sciences to rally France to the BIPM project
- Wilhelm Julius Foerster · German astronomer who, with the Russian and Austrian representatives, boycotted the Permanent Committee of the International Metre Commission to prompt the reunion of the Diplomatic Conference and promote the foundation of a permanent BIPM
Sources
- Metre Convention Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.