The 17th-century Roots of the Metric System

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Two men, working separately but simultaneously, are each cited as the originator of the idea of the metric system depending on what source you read. But it took more than 100 years to implement the ideas they suggested.

Research:

• Alder, Ken. “The Measure of All Things.” Simon & Schuster. 2003.
• Benham, Elizabeth. “Busting Myths About the Metric System.” National Institute of Standards and Technology. Oct. 6, 2020. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/busting-myths-about-metric-system
• “Brief History and Use of the English and Metric Systems of Measurement.” The Science Teacher, vol. 36, no. 5, 1969, pp. 39–40. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24151702
• Evelyn, John. “The Diary of John Evelyn, Vol. 1.” M. Walter Dunne. 1901. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41218/41218-h/41218-h.htm#Footnote_49_49
• Gilbert, Burnet. “Lives, Characters, and An Address to Posterity.” London. J. Duncan. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/livescharactersa00burnrich/page/n5/mode/2up
• JOHNSON, ART, et al. “MATH ROOTS: The Beginnings of the Metric System.” Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, vol. 12, no. 5, 2006, pp. 228–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41182394
• “Biographie Universelle Classique. Biographie Universelle, Ou Dictionnaire Historique, Etc.” Volume 4. 1833. Accessed online: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biographie_Universelle_Classique_Biograp/lqqTLwFIyCsC?hl=en&gbpv=0
• Maestro, Marcello. “Going Metric: How It All Started.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 41, no. 3, 1980, pp. 479–86. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2709407
• “Origin of the Metric System.” U.S. Metric Association. https://usma.org/origin-of-the-metric-system
• Pepys, Samuel “Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete.” George Bell and Sons. London. 1893. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4200/4200-h/4200-h.htm
• Riebeek, Holli. “Planetary Motion: The History of an Idea That Launched the Scientific Revolution.” Earth Observatory NASA. July 7, 2009. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/OrbitsHistory
• Russell, Cristine. “Congress Inches Away from Metric Conversion.” BioScience, vol. 24, no. 8, 1974, pp. 441–43. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1296850
• Speziali, Pierre. “Mouton, Gabriel.” Dictionary of Scientific Biography, edited by Charles Coulston Gillespie. Vol. 9, pp. 554–555. New York. 1974.
• Stephen, Leslie. “Dictionary of National ” MacMillan. New York. 1885-1900. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati61stepuoft/page/n11/mode/2up
• Wallis, John, Dr. “The Origin of the Royal Society, 1645-1662.” Fordham University Modern History Sourcebook. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1662royalsociety.asp
• “Latitude Dependent Changes in Gravitational Acceleration.” UNLV Department of Geosicence. https://pburnley.faculty.unlv.edu/GEOL452_652/gravity/notes/GravityNotes18LatitudeVariations.htm
• Wetfall, Richard S. “Mouton, Gabriel.” The Galileo Project. Rice University. http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/mouton.html
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "pendulum". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/technology/pendulum
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Imperial units". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Imperial-unit
• Britannica, The Editors of E "metric system". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/metric-system-measurement
• “Metrication in other countries.” U.S. Metric Associatio https://usma.org/metrication-in-other-countries#chart
• Ramani, Madhvi. “How France created the metric system.” BBC. Feb. 24, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system
• Zupko, Ronald and Chisholm, Lawrence James. "measurement system."Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/measurement-system

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