The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, is an international standards
organisation, one of three such organisations established to maintain
the International System of Units under the terms of the Metre Convention. The
organisation is usually referred to by its French initialism, BIPM.
The other organisations that maintain the SI system, also known by their
French initialisms, are the General Conference on Weights and Measures and
the International Committee for Weights and Measures.
History The BIPM was created on 20 May 1875,
following the signing of the Metre Convention, a treaty among 51 nations.
It is based at the Pavillon de Breteuil in Sèvres, France, a 4.35 ha site
granted to the Bureau by the French Government in 1876, where it enjoys
extraterritorial status, a status that was clarified by the French decree No
70-820 of 9 September 1970. Function
Under the authority of the Metric Convention, the BIPM helps to ensure
uniformity of SI weights and measures around the world. It does so through a
series of consultative committees, whose members are the national metrology
laboratories of the Convention's member states, and through its own laboratory
work. The BIPM carries out measurement-related
research. It takes part in and organises international comparisons of national
measurement standards and performs calibrations for member states.
The BIPM has an important role in maintaining accurate worldwide time of
day. It combines, analyses, and averages the official atomic time standards of
member nations around the world to create a single, official Coordinated
Universal Time. The BIPM is also the keeper of the
international prototype of the kilogram. Directors of the BIPM
Since its establishment, the directors of the BIPM have been:
1875–1877 Gilbert Govi 1877–1879 J. Pernet
1879–1889 Ole Jacob Broch 1889–1915 J.-René Benoît
1915–1936 Charles Édouard Guillaume 1936–1951 Albert Pérard
1951–1961 Charles Volet 1962–1977 Jean Terrien
1978–1988 Pierre Giacomo 1988–2003 Terry J. Quinn, CBE FRS
2004–2010 Andrew J. Wallard 2011–2012 Michael Kühne
2013– Martin J.T. Milton. See also
Metrologia Institute for Reference Materials and
Measurements International Organization for
Standardization National Institute of Standards and
Technology References
^ "Brief history of the SI". BIPM. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
^ a b Page, Chester H; Vigoureux, Paul, eds.. The International Bureau of
Weights and Measures 1875–1975: NBS Special Publication 420. Washington,
D.C.: National Bureau of Standards. pp. 26–27.
^ "History of the Pavillon de Breteuil § The BIPM from 1875 to the Present Day".
BIPM. Retrieved 2015-09-09. ^ "BIPM Time Coordinated Universal
Time". BIPM. Retrieved 29 December 2013. ^ "International prototype of the
kilogram". BIPM. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
^ "Directors of the BIPM since 1875". Bureau International des Poids et
Mesures. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
^ "NPL Fellow, Dr Martin Milton, is new Director at foundation of world's
measurement system". QMT News. August 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
External links Official website