Mouton, Gabriel

In 1670, a French scientist named Gabriel Mouton suggested a decimal system of measurement. This meant that units would be based on groups of ten. It took a while for people to try it for themselves, but in 1799 the French Academy of Sciences developed a decimal-based system of measurement. They called it the metric system, from the Greek word metron, which means a measure. On January 1, 1840, the French legislature passed a law requiring the metric system be used in all trade. 

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