Metre Convention

The Metre Convention (or Convention of the Metre) of 1875 is an international treaty that established what is now known as the SI system. It was revised at the 6th CGPM in 1921. In 1960 the system of units it established was renamed the SI 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.

• http://www.bipm.fr/enus/1_Convention/foreword.html