Convention du Mètre

From Freepedia

The Convention du Mètre of May 20, 1875 is an international treaty that established what is now known as the SI system of units. It is written in French, and called in English the Metre Convention, or, in the United States, the Meter Convention or Treaty of the Meter. It was revised at the 6th CGPM in 1921. In 1960, the system of units it established was renamed the Système international d'unités (SI) ("International System of Units").

The Convention created three main organizations:

Conférence générale des poids et mesures (CGPM) - a meeting every four to six years of delegates from all member states;
Bureau international des poids et mesures (BIPM) - an international metrology centre at Sèvres in France; and
Comité international des poids et mesures (CIPM) - an administrative committee that meets annually at the BIPM.

Signatories

There were originally 17 signatories to the treaty. This number grew to 21 in 1900, 32 in 1950, 44 by 1975, 48 by 1997, and 49 by 2001. As of 2005, there are 51 signatories: