(The information which follows has been almost entirely extracted from the article "History of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA)", by Prof Naoshi Fukushima, published in IUGG Chronicle 226, pages 73-87, 1995.)

1834- The first international co-operative effort in simultaneous multi-station magnetic observations was the "Göttingen Verein" organised by Carl Friedrich Gauss.

1882 - The International Polar Year (August 1882 to August 1883). (The Commission for Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity, part of the International Meteorological Organisation, itself established in 1873, planned the geomagnetic observation campaign.)

1896 - The quarterly journal "Terrestrial Magnetism" was first published. This was renamed "Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity" in 1899.

1918 - The International Research Council (IRC) was established, following the end of World War I, to promote science through international co-operation.

1919 - At a meeting of the IRC in July, the International Geodetic and Geophysical Union was established with Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity as Section D, (one of six Sections). Section D was established immediately because members of the Magnetic Commission of the International Meteorological Organisation, which existed before the war, were present at the IRC meeting. (The American Geophysical Union, also established in 1919 had pressed the IRC to give the title International Geophysical Union to the new organisation, and had argued for the inclusion of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity as one of the Sections.)

1930 - The International Geodetic and Geophysical Union agreed to co-operate with the International Meteorological Organisation to organise a Second International Polar Year, 50 years after the first. The Union changed its name to the "International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics", and "Sections" became "Associations".

1933 - A Central Bureau for documents relating to the Second Polar Year was created in Copenhagen. This can be seen as the forerunner of the World Data Centre system.

1938 - Sydney Chapman suggested replacing the term "Terrestrial Magnetism" by "Geomagnetism".

1950 - A Third International Polar Year was proposed by L V Berkener for 25 years after the Second International Polar Year. It was thought this would provide motivation to re-equip geophysical observatories, many of which had been damaged or destroyed during World War II. The idea was taken up by the International Council of Scientific Unions, and the scope extended beyond the polar regions, to become the International Geophysical Year, with observations to be made in 14 discipline areas. World Data Centres were established.

1951 - At the Brussels IUGG General Assembly upper atmosphere scientists pressed to have their interests recognised within the International Association of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity (IATME). (The alternatives were the International Union of Radio Science and the International Association of Meteorology.) Following the Brussels Assembly the IATME Secretary gathered opinions and after considering the replies Chapman coined the term "aeronomy" and suggested adoption of the name "International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy".

1954 - The International Association of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity was renamed the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy at the General Assembly in Rome. Aeronomy was defined as "the science of the upper atmospheric regions where dissociation and ionisation are important".

1963 - IAGA changed from a committee to a commission structure at the Berkeley Assembly. The driver for the change was the need to accommodate the growth in space and solar-terrestrial physics research following the launch of the first satellites.

1973 - The divisional structure was adopted at the Kyoto Assembly. The driver for the change was the "need to study the physical nature of geomagnetic and aeronomical phenomena rather than their morphological aspects".

1977 - New Statutes and By-Laws were adopted, including the present structure.

1983 - Creation of the Inter-Divisional Commission on Developing Countries.

1999 - Adoption of re-worked Statutes and By-Laws at the IUGG General Assembly held in Birmingham.

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