Metric History Timeline

Date	Important Facts
1670	The meter is invented as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the North Pole on the meridian line.
1790	Thomas Jefferson introduced a measurement system based on ten for the United States.
1795	France was the first country to adopt the metric system.
1866	The Metric Act of 1866 made it legal to use metric measurements in the United States.
1875	The Treaty of the Metre Conference held in Paris.
1878	The United States approves the Treaty of the Metre.
1893	U.S. customary measurements (inches, feet, pounds, ounces, etc.) are officially defined in metric terms by The Mendenhall Order.
1960	The meter was redefined in terms of wavelengths of light by Krypton.
1974	A United States law that encourages schools to teach the Metric System is passed.
1975	The Metric Conversion Act was passed to plan for and encourage the change to metric in the U.S.
1983	The meter is redefined in terms of the speed of light.
1991	President Bush signed an order that made anyone who worked for him or a federal agency use the metric system.
~~2000~~ 2009	All products sold in Europe must be labeled ONLY in metric units.