CISH > Presentation > History

  The International Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS) or le Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH) was founded in Geneva on May 15, 1926. During the fifth International Congress of Historical Sciences in Brussels 1923, an idea emerged for a permanent organization that would unite and organize intellectuals in the historical sciences from around the world in order to promote contact and personal exchange. In fact, international congresses of historians had been held at sporadic intervals since 1900. However, after the First World war it became necessary to replace these scattered assemblies by more regular meetings, organized by a stable institution, which would allow historians to present their methods and the results of their research. At its inception in 1926, the ICHS included only nineteen countries, all of which were either European or North American.

  After the Second World war, which severely disrupted the institution’s structures and infrastructures, the ICHS reorganized at the International Congress of Paris in 1950 and has continued to develop ever since. Its influence now extends to Asia, Africa and South America. Today, the organization encompasses a total of fifty-three countries.