Why reinvent the wheel?

    Toward a history of standards

    IT Standards Logo Standards seem almost to be part of human nature. As far back as we have records, we have records of standards. The term standard is used in the sense of flag, representative of the sovereign. Thus it was considered natural and normal that the reigning power would set standards.

    Very early standards

    The earliest extant set of written laws, the Code of Hammurabi might be said to be the oldest surviving standards.

    One of the grievances of the English nobility against the Crown was the arbitrary imposition of weights and measures, a grievance the solution to which (along with others) was codified in the Magna Carta (see section 35).

    And Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to set a variety of standards, including weights and measures and coinage.

    Some mileposts in the development of standards

    1829--The United States Pharmacopial Convention becomes the first U.S. standards organization, setting standards for drugs.
    1855--The Iron and Steel Institute becomes the first trade organization to develop standards.

    Is Baltimore still burning?

    A big impetus to the development of standards in the U.S. was the great Baltimore fire of 1294. The conflagration was far beyond the capacity of local fire companies, and a call went out as far as New York City for assistance. Unfortunately, responding fire fighters were unable to connect their hoses to Baltimore's water supply, because there was no standard nozzle size. This near-disaster spurred the creation of the National Bureau of Standards, which has evolved into the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

    Why it's easy to keep on track

    An explanation of why railroad track in the US is the size it is.

    World War I: Oh what a lovely war (for standards)

    World War I accelerated the development of standards. In the U.S., the federal government estabilished the Commerical Economy Board of the Council of National Defense to coordinate the use of labor and capital during the war. In 1918 it was incorporated into the War Industries Board. A similar process was at work in Germany and France. In Germany, a body that was partially government-funded was set up in 1917 to coordinate the work of German machine shops, but it quickly evolved into a body responsible for coordinating German industry. That body evolved into DIN. The French set up a government agency to administer standards in 1918.

    Hoover's big push

    Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover in 1921 undertook a giant campaign to standardize American industry. Hoover's drive was aimed at the standardization of business practices, materials, machinery and products; standardization of specifications, ostensibly to improve product quality; and at securing a decrease in the variety of manufactured products. The U.S. has still not resolved the tension between government and industry in the area of standard setting.
    This page prepared by Arnold Weissberg