In the days of cave people, there were no standard measurements as they have nothing important to measure. However, when people began to build and make things, they started using units of measure to make their task easier.
People
used parts of their bodies such
as finger, span, palm or cubit to express measurements of length.
 |
Span
|
 |
Palm
|
 |
Finger
|
 |
| Cubit |
However, these body measurements were not always the same length. People soon realized the need for standard measurement.
Gabriel Mouton, a French vicar is known as the "founding father" of the Metric System. In 1670 and 1790, he proposed a decimal system of measurement while The Academy of Science in France developed the Metric System.
In 1960, this system is named as the SI (System International) unit. Millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), meters (m) and kilometers (km) are the most common base units of length in the Metric System.
 |
| Gabriel Mouton (1618-28 September 1694) |
In 1960, this system is named as the SI (System International) unit. Millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), meters (m) and kilometers (km) are the most common base units of length in the Metric System.