NIST/NBS History

The NIST/NBS history volumes are a 3-volume set that traces the history of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), from its creation in 1901 through 1993.

Measures for Progress: A History of the National Bureau of Standards (MP275)

A Unique Institution: The National Bureau of Standards, 1950-1969 (SP925)

Responding to National Needs:The National Bureau of Standards Becomes the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1969-1993 (SP955)

The appendices of Responding to National Needs (SP955) are updated in NIST SP955 Suppl., Responding to National Needs: Supplement to Appendices 1994-2009. This supplement is available as a searchable PDF file in its entirety, or as searchable individual appendices.

Responding to National Needs: Supplement to Appendices 1994-2009 (SP955 Suppl.) (entire volume as a searchable PDF)

Measures for Progress: A History of the National Bureau of Standards(MP275)

Front Cover
Foreword
Preface
Author's Introduction
Contents
Chapter I. At the Turn of the Century
Chapter II. Founding the National Bureau of Standards (1901-10)
Chapter III. Electricity, Railroads, and Radio (1911-16)
Chapter IV. The War Years (1917-19)
Chapter V. The Tide of Commerce and Industry (1920-30)
Chapter VI. The Time of the Great Depression (1931-40)
Chapter VII. World War II Research (1941-45)
Chapter VIII. The New World of Science (1946-51)
The Crucial Decade--An Envoi
Appendices
Index 

A Unique Institution: The National Bureau of Standards, 1950-1969 (SP925)

Front Cover
Title Page
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
Chapter One: The National Bureau of Standards at Mid-century
Chapter Two: Testing Can Be Troublesome
Chapter Three: Divestiture and Reaffirmation, 1950-1957
Chapter Four: Reorientation and Reconstitution, 1958-1964
Chapter Five: Technological Triumph: Social Turmoil, 1964-1969
Appendices
Bibliographic Note and References
Index

Responding to National Needs:The National Bureau of Standards Becomes the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1969-1993 (SP955)

Front Cover
Inside Front Cover
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
Chapter One: A Unique Institution
Chapter Two: Bright Prospects for NBS (August 1969--May 1972)
Chapter Three: A Nation in Trouble; An Agency in Change (May 1972--June 1975)
Chapter Four: A Durable Director (July 1975--March 1989)
Chapter Five: The National Bureau of Standards Becomes the National Institute of Standards and Technology: Public Law 100-418, August 23, 1988
Chapter Six: Metrology Makes Room for Industrial Productivity (February 1990--Aprll 1993)
Appendices
Index

Responding to National Needs: Supplement to the Appendices 1994-2009 (SP955 Suppl.)

Foreword
Contents
Appendix A: Legislation Relating to the Organization, Functions, and Activities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 1993-2009
Appendix B: Histories of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Bureau of Standards
Appendix C: NIST in the Federal Administration
Appendix D: Site Information and Maps: Gaithersburg and Boulder
Appendix E: NIST Staff, 1996-2007
Appendix F: NIST Postdoctoral Research Associates, 1994-2009
Appendix G: Scientific Awards Given by the Department of Commerce and NIST to Staff Members, 1994-2009
Appendix H: Members of the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology
Appendix I: NIST Actual Obligations, 2000-2009
Appendix J: NIST Publication Series
Appendix K: Structure and Leadership of NIST