The International Electrotechnical Commission held its inaugural meeting on 26 June 1906, following discussions among the British Institution of Electrical Engineers, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and others, which began at the 1900 Paris International Electrical Congress,, with British engineer R. E. B. Crompton playing a key role. In 1906, Lord Kelvin was elected as the first President of the International Electrotechnical Commission.The Life of William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs by Silvanus Phillips Thompson, CUP 2011, , 9781108027182 thumb|250px|left|IEC central office in Geneva The IEC was instrumental in developing and distributing standards for units of measurement, particularly the gauss, hertz, and weber. It was also first to promote the Giorgi System of standards, later developed into the SI, or Système International d'unités (in English, the International System of Units).
The International Electrotechnical Commission held its inaugural meeting on 26 June 1906, following discussions among the British Institution of Electrical Engineers, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and others, which began at the 1900 Paris International Electrical Congress,, with British engineer R. E. B. Crompton playing a key role. In 1906, Lord Kelvin was elected as the first President of the International Electrotechnical Commission.The Life of William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs by Silvanus Phillips Thompson, CUP 2011, , 9781108027182 thumb|250px|left|IEC central office in Geneva The IEC was instrumental in developing and distributing standards for units of measurement, particularly the gauss, hertz, and weber. It was also first to promote the Giorgi System of standards, later developed into the SI, or Système International d'unités (in English, the International System of Units).