USNC and Electrotechnical Industry to Mark Centennial and “IEC Day” in St. Louis, MO

One hundred years ago, St. Louis was the site of several landmark events, drawing the world’s attention to a fledgling city emerging into national prominence. St. Louis hosted the 1904 Olympics Games—only the third Games in the modern age and the first time the sporting event had ever been held in the United States. Most famously, St. Louis was the home of the beloved 1904 World’s Fair, with its dazzling display of electric lights in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Amidst the excitement and glitz of these events, another, quieter gathering was taking place—one that would eventually shape the evolution of the electrical industry.

September marks the 100th anniversary of a meeting that drew more than 1,000 of the world’s leading scientists and pioneer industrialists to St. Louis for the International Electrical Congress, on September 15, 1904. Delegates to the Congress agreed that the time had come to cooperate on the development of internationally recognized standards that would govern electrical apparatus and machinery and that could transcend the laws regarding electricity among countries. This meeting ultimately led to the formation in 1906 of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), an organization that now promotes international cooperation on all questions of standardization and the verification of conformity to standards in the fields of electricity, electronics and related technologies.

In honor of this centennial anniversary, the mayor of the city of St. Louis has announced that September 22, 2004, will be recognized as “IEC Day.” The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and its National Committee to the IEC (USNC) will commemorate the anniversary by hosting a banquet at the Hyatt Regency in St. Louis in junction with other USNC meetings. Other expected activities will include an educational presentation to students at Washington University.

For more information on the USNC, visit www.ansi.org/usnc. To read about IEC history and the centennial, download the commemorative tribute.