The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, known by its French initials BIPM, was created in 1875 when seventeen countries signed the Metre Convention in Paris. Its task is to provide a worldwide basis for uniform measurement, and it is based in Sèvres, near Paris. For many years it kept the international prototypes of the meter and the kilogram, the latter until the kilogram was redefined in 2019 in terms of a fundamental constant of physics. The bureau coordinates the International System of Units, the SI, and carries out comparisons of national standards. It works under the supervision of an international committee of scientists.
Before and after
- 7 March 1875Birth of Maurice Ravel
- 26 March 1875Birth of Syngman Rhee
- 28 March 1875Earthquake in Lifou Island, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
- 20 May 1875Metre Convention
- 20 May 1875Founding of International Bureau of Weights and Measures
- 6 June 1875Birth of Thomas Mann
- 26 July 1875Birth of Carl Jung
- 31 July 1875Death of Andrew Johnson
- 4 August 1875Death of Hans Christian Andersen
More in Society, economy & sport
- 12 May 1792Founding of New York Stock Exchange
- 1823Origins of rugby union
- 4 June 1880Introduction of Bulgarian lev
- 23 June 1894Founding of International Olympic Committee
- 1903Rise of Bolsheviks
- 1907Rise of scouting
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.