Louis Jourdan wrote in USMA 11025
>But what is important in that declaration, is that the intention of
>going on with the development of the metric system was clearly
>stated. And by the King, who could well have decided to scrap this
>remnant of the Revolution : don't forget that the decree of 18
>germinal an III (7 April 1795) called the new units "Republican". He
>could have killed the metric system, no, on the 4 July 1814 he
>rescued it.
>
>Another interesting fact in this declaration : according to my
>documentation, it is the first official document with the words
>"metric system".
>
>Thus, on the 4 July 1814, not only the metric system was resurrected,
>it was christened.
H.Moreau in Le Système métrique, 1975, said that the decree of 7 April 1795
defined the "Système métrique décimal" to distinguish it from the several
"systèmes métriques" of former times that were not "décimal". The new
meaures were officially named "républicaines".
I suspect that what happened between 1795 and 1814 was that the popular
understanding of the word "métrique" shifted from being any system of
measaurement to referring to the system based on the mètre. Hence the
decree of 4 July 1814 said "L'établissement du système métrique sera
continué sur le plan qui a été suivi jusqu'à présent". Note that this was
after Napoleon's defeat in the battle of Leipzig and before his return from
Elba and the battle of Waterloo.
Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071
