In the early years of the Metrication Programme, which began in 1965, the press was not hostile to metrication. They published articles that sounded supportive or neutral. It was only a couple of decades later when metrication progress ran out of steam and the consensus on metrication broke down in the 1980’s that the press turned against metrication. Here we look at some of the earlier and later newspaper articles that reflect the changing attitudes to metrication in the UK.
Continue reading “Media blast from the past”Category: History
Why UK Metrication Programme failed according to AI
I consulted Microsoft Copilot to ask its opinion on the reason for the failure of the UK Metrication Programme. I asked it, “The UK started the Metrication Programme in 1965 and planned to complete metrication in 10 years. Why has the UK failed to complete its transition to the metric system? What went wrong?”. It gave great insights into the factors that caused the UK to fail. Its response, with AI formatting and emphasis, is reproduced below.
Continue reading “Why UK Metrication Programme failed according to AI”Obituary – Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, KC
We at UKMA are deeply saddened to learn of the death of UKMA’s longest-serving patron, Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne of Pimlico. He was a man with a stellar career both in politics and outside, and was an avid supporter of UKMA and its cause.
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Prince Albert and the measurement muddle in the 1860s
165 years ago, in his opening address at the London meeting of the International Statistical Congress, held on 16 July 1860, Prince Albert drew attention to the measurement muddle prevalent at the time, and was in no doubt that the muddle would have to go.
Words from his speech were included in the 1862 Report From The Select Committee On Weights And Measures, dated 15 July 1862.
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The old Swedish decimal measurement system
The English bishop John Wilkins was not the only one who developed a decimal-based measurement system that predates the metric system. Anders Bure, a Swedish mathematician and cartographer who lived from 1571 to 1646, developed a different decimal system that used the Swedish foot as the base unit. He tried to introduce this system of weights and measures in Sweden in the seventeenth century. Georg Stiernhielm, a Swedish civil servant, linguist and poet who lived from 1598 to 1672, later recommended this system should become the standard. This system was used between 1855 and 1889. Then Sweden changed over to the metric system on 1 January 1889.
Continue reading “The old Swedish decimal measurement system”Report on Measure for Measure Conference
Martin Vlietstra attended the St Cross Centre for the History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP) one-day conference in Oxford on Saturday 7 June 2025 and has written a report about the conference for Metric Views.
Continue reading “Report on Measure for Measure Conference”Happy 150th anniversary to the Metre Convention
Today is exactly 150 years since the Metre Convention was signed by 17 nations. This treaty established the use of the metric system internationally and created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) and the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM), organizations with different roles, to co-ordinate international efforts to standardize measurements.
Continue reading “Happy 150th anniversary to the Metre Convention”Are UK weather forecasts a form of gaslighting?
As we once again enter the Celsiheit season, that uniquely British time of year, where temperatures become so warm that some assume that a switch to the larger numbers of the old Fahrenheit scale is required, the BBC has dashed any hope that 2025 might be the year when Fahrenheit is finally consigned to the history books of UK weather forecasting.
Continue reading “Are UK weather forecasts a form of gaslighting?”
HAPP one-day conference on the history of measurement
The St Cross Centre for the History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP) is holding a one-day conference on the history of measurement at the Mathematical Institute in Oxford on Saturday 7 June 2025 from 10.30 am – 5.00 pm BST. Participants can register to attend in person or online. Everyone is welcome to attend. Registration to attend this conference is free but booking is required to attend the conference in person or online.
Continue reading “HAPP one-day conference on the history of measurement”Could metrication have shortened World War I by 2 years, and saved millions of lives?
In a follow up to an article last year, about the occasion in 1904 when Parliament came close to fully-adopting the metric system, we consider one of the possible consequences of this failure.
Metric Views 