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The Foundation of the Bureau International de l’Heure

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Astronomers as Diplomats

Part of the book series: Historical & Cultural Astronomy ((HCA))

Abstract

The history of the foundation of the Bureau International de l’Heure is a fascinating story that relied on huge efforts and works at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. This was made possible thanks to scientific and technical innovations of renowned scientists as well as to an effective international cooperation. It is closely linked to the history of the creation of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) and of the Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale (URSI), all of these organizations being officially created in 1919 thanks to several common scientific personalities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Henri Poincaré’s death was to be announced in the minutes of the meeting of July 17, 1912.

  2. 2.

    At the time, Raymond Poincaré, Henri Poincaré’s cousin, was also President of the Council.

  3. 3.

    Jean-René Benoît, then Director of the BIPM.

  4. 4.

    The 1912 International Radiotelegraph Conference, see Sect. 2.2.4.

  5. 5.

    the statutes of the IRC stipulated that the Convention would come into force on January 1, 1920, on condition that at least three of the admitted countries have acceded to it and this condition was not fulfilled until late.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France

    Nicole Capitaine & Suzanne Débarbat

  2. Bureau des longitudes, Paris, France

    Nicole Capitaine & Suzanne Débarbat

  3. Bureau des longitudes, Paris, France

    Pierre Baüer

Authors
  1. Nicole Capitaine
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  2. Pierre Baüer
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  3. Suzanne Débarbat
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Correspondence to Nicole Capitaine .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, PARIS, France

    Thierry Montmerle

  2. Groupe d’Histoire et de Diffusion des Sciences d’Orsay (GHDSO-EST), Université Paris-Saclay, ORSAY, France

    Danielle Fauque

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Capitaine, N., Baüer, P., Débarbat, S. (2022). The Foundation of the Bureau International de l’Heure . In: Montmerle, T., Fauque, D. (eds) Astronomers as Diplomats. Historical & Cultural Astronomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98625-4_2

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