The UKMA has issued a press release drafted by Pat Naughtin andissued today.
Metric system invented in England - new discovery.London, 12 July 2007. Recent historical research makes it clear that not only was the metric system invented in England, but also the idea behind the International System of Units (SI), that is now used all over the world, came from the work of John Wilkins, the founder and first secretary of the Royal Society. This discovery finally discredits the arguments of last ditch defenders of "imperial" units that the metric system is "foreign".
John Wilkins published his description for a 'universal measure' in 1668, more than 120 years before the metric system was adopted by France in the 1790s.
The research was conducted by Pat Naughtin, a metrication specialist from Australia, who carried out his research at Wadham College in Oxford, at Trinity College in Cambridge, and at the Royal Society in London.
Wilkins' system was complete in that it was based on decimal numbers (10s, 100s, and 1000s) and its measurements were to be based on an internationally agreed 'universal measure', which would become the basis for other measures.
Our modern measuring methods now use all of Wilkins' ideas: we use prefixes to go from millimetres via metres to kilometres, we have a universally agreed definition of a metre, and a litre of water has a mass of a kilogram.
Wilkins' 'universal measure' worked out to be:"38 Rhineland inches, or (which is all one) 39 inches and a quarter according to our London standard. "John Wilkins: An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language (London, 1668 May 13).
Pat Naughtin says, 'In modern terms this is equivalent to 997 millimetres or quite close to the modern metre'.
Although Wilkins did not use the word 'metre', its use became common after Tito Livio Burattini translated Wilkins 'universal measure' to its Italian equivalent, 'metro catholico' and, it seems that this was later translated, and shortened, to the French word, metre.
Pat Naughtin will be in London to speak at the Annual Conference of the United Kingdom Metric Association (UKMA) on Saturday 14 July.
You can find details about Pat Naughtin from his web site at: http://www.metricationmatters.com/ or http://www.metricationmatters.com/pat_naughtin/
Pat Naughtin also appeared today on BBC News 24 and on BBC Radio 4, here in the UK, being interviewed about his discovery. There is a link at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/pm When the sound starts, forward to 22 mins 50 secs for the start of Pat Naughtin's part. Ends at 27:00. The TV news clip can be seen at http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_5260000/newsid_5261200/5261222.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&news=1&ms3=4 be quick though, I am not sure how long these things stay available online. David King
AAAA Media release Wilkins.doc
Description: MS-Word document
