During the 19th century, many maritime nations established hydrographic offices to provide means for improving the navigation of naval and merchant
vessels by providing nautical publications, nautical charts, and other
navigational services. There were substantial differences in hydrographic procedures charts, and publications. In 1889, an International Maritime Conference was held at
Washington, D.C., and it was proposed to establish a "permanent international commission." Similar proposals were made at the sessions of the International Congress of Navigation held at
Saint Petersburg in 1908 and the International Maritime Conference held at Saint Petersburg in 1912. In 1919, the national
Hydrographers of Great Britain and France cooperated in taking the necessary steps to convene an international conference of Hydrographers. London was selected as the most suitable place for this conference, and on 24 July 1919, the First International Conference opened, attended by the Hydrographers of 24 nations. The object of the conference was "To consider the advisability of all maritime nations adopting similar methods in preparation, construction, and production of their charts and all hydrographic publications; of rendering the results in the most convenient form to enable them to be readily used; of instituting a prompt system of mutual exchange of hydrographic information between all countries; and of providing an opportunity to consultations and discussions to be carried out on hydrographic subjects generally by the hydrographic experts of the world." This is still the major purpose of the IHO. As a result of the 1919 Conference, a permanent organization was formed and statutes for its operations were prepared. The IHB, now the IHO, began its activities in 1921 with 18 nations as members. The
Principality of Monaco was selected as the seat of the Organization as a result of the offer of
Albert I of Monaco to provide suitable accommodation for the Bureau in the Principality. In 1970, under the leadership of Guy Chatel of France, the organization adopted its current name as part of a new International Convention on the IHO, which was agreed upon by its member nations. The term "International Hydrographic Bureau" continued to describe the IHO's secretariat until 8 November 2016, when a major revision to the Convention took effect. Following this change, the secretariat was renamed the "IHO Secretariat," which consists of an elected Secretary-General, two supporting Directors, and a small permanent staff (18 in 2020) at the Organization's headquarters in Monaco. == Structure ==