The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) was founded in 1961, and formally admitted by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) on 28 September 1961. It took over activities that had previously been organized by the International Geological Congress (IGC) since its first meeting in 1878 in Paris: setting up international terminology and
conventions, global correlation of specimens and strata, and coordination of mapping projects on a global scale.
 

Since its founding, IUGS has experienced rapid growth in membership, scientific scope and expertise, setting up new task groups and commissions to address specific problems, and to endorse and exploit new methodologies such as AI.
 

The IGCs, taking place every four years, are still an independent organizational body, but are closely linked to IUGS.

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Read more about the history of IUGS:

• Roots of IUGS

• Anniversaries: IUGS founded 60 years ago

• IUGS-60th Women in the early years

• Past Executive Committee members (1961-2024)​