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 Historical perspectives:
Mission & development of IMA, past meetings, past councils and obituary

MISSION & DEVELOPMENT OF IMA


MISSION :

The IMA is the only truly international organisation promoting mineralogy, which is one of the oldest branches of Science.

Today it plays a vital role in human welfare, underpinning metalliferous mining, exploitation of industrial minerals, petroleum exploration and extraction, waste disposal, the remediation of pollution, and Soil Science.
Mineral surfaces stand at the interface between the atmosphere, the biosphere and the solid Earth. They are crucial to the understanding of climate and global change.Mineralogy is fundamental to our knowledge of the chemistry, mode of formation and age of rocks, including extraterrestrial materials which give us clues for the origin of the Solar System and the likelihood of life on other planets.

Experimental Mineralogy, which strongly overlaps Materials Science, allows us to deduce the nature of the deepest, most inaccessible, parts of the Earth.


DEVELOPMENT OF IMA:

All the files below are in pdf

1956 - 1957 - 1958

Photograph of participants to the first IMA meeting, in Madrid, in April 1958

Summer 1956: the British Mineralogical Society has sent letters to various countries to create an international organization: see the memorandum

November 1st, 1956 : Decision during the meeting of the Mineralogical Society of America to create a committee to investigate the possibility of forming an International Union of Mineralogy.

December 18, 1956 : Letter of M.L. Burger to 8 mineralogists to form a Committee to consider the possibility of forming an International Union of Mineralogy

January 1957: Answer of C. Guillemin to M.L. Burger

February 8, 1957: Memorandum by N.F.M. Henry send to M.L. Burger and to 3 corresponding members on the Committee on the type of international organization, with a copy to C. Guillemin

February 25, 1957: Guillemin opinion on the Henry's Memorandum sent to M.L. Burger

February 26, 1957: Guillemin's answer to N.M.F. Henry

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March 8, 1957: M.J. Buerger's letter to the "Committee to Investigate the Possibility of Establishing an International Union of Mineralogy". L.J. Buerger proposed to create "The International Mineralogical Association" (IMA) unstead of a Union, and to organize an informal meeting to discuss general matters concerned with the IMA, during the Congress of the International Union of Crystallography in Montreal July 10. The Buerger document also contains :

  • the Committee member opinion on the creation of an International organization devoted to Mineralogy (Claringbull, Gruner, Donnay, Henry, Guillemin, Pabst, Winkler),
  • and an invitation to send National delegates to Montreal to consider the formation of an International Mineralogical Association

March 16, 1957: N.F.M. Henry answer to Guillemin letter (February 26th, 1957)

April 4, 1957: C. Guillemin letter to L.J Buerger on the creation of the IMA, and on its absence at the Montreal meeting

April 10, 1957: Request by L.J Buerger to name a French delegate to attend the Montreal Congress

April 15, 1957: Guillemin letter following a meeting of the French Society of Mineralogy, on favor of the creation of the IMA, and designing Wyart to go to Montreal

April 18, 1947: Project of L.J. Buerger to elect a constitutional Committee during the Montreal Congress which could work for the establishment of the eventuel International Mineralogical Association. Such a committee could come to an existence in April 1958 during a meeting in Southern Europe.

May 10, 1957: Memorandum of N.F.M. Henry relative to the "Committee to Investigate the Possibility of Establishing an International Union of Mineralogy" relative to the control on the publication of new minerals names. The memorandun was send to C. Guillemin (14 May 1957).

 

July 16, 1957: Minutes of the Montreal meeting prepared by A. Pabst (secretary pro tem)

  • A (provisional) International Mineralogical Association was set up whose members are individual mineralogical societies
  • IMA interim officers were elected by the delegates to draft a constitution:
        • Chairman: G.F. Claringbull
        • Vice-chairman: F. Laves
        • Secretary-Treasurer: J.L. Amoros
        • Councillors: L.G. Berry, C. Guillemin, M. Fornaseri, F. Wickman, Grigoriev, M.J. Buerger
    • The following commisisons were created on
        • new species
        • preservation and accessibility of type material
        • nomenclature
        • abstracts
        • the continued publication and revision of the System of Mineralogy
        • Museum
    • There was the need for a program committee, a committee on excursions and a committee on committees.
    • The first formal meeting of the IMA would be held in Madrid, April 1958. Delagates would vote on the constitution.

October 2, 1957: Report of the "Committee to Investigate the Possibility of Establishing an International Union of Mineralogy" to the Mineralogical Society of America. This reports sums up the development of the successive committee designed to work for the creation of IMA.

February 8, 1958: Henry's letter to C. Guillemin asking the latter to become the Secretary of the Committee on Nomenclature of New Minerals

February 11, 1958: C. Guillemin answer to Henry

February 14, 1958: Henry's letter to C. Guillemin informing on the development of the organization to prepare the Madrid Meeting

February 17, 1958: C. Guillemin answer to Henry. Wyart is named as the delegate of the French Society of Mineralogy for the Madrid meeting

March 12, 1958: Henry's letter to C. Guillemin informing on his arrival in Paris on the 28th of March

March 14, 1958: C. Guillemin letter to Claringbull to prepare the Madrid meeting. IMA participation is expected with Crystallographical meeting and Geological meeting alternatively.

April 3, 1958: Claringbull answer to Guillemin, mainly on commissions

List of Chairmen and Secretaries of Commissions

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Beginning of April 1958: proposal for the conduct of business in Madrid

April 1958: Draft statutes and Bye-laws of the International Mineralogical Association

May 21, 1958: M. Fleisher answer to R.L. Parker, accepting to became the first chairmen of the commission in New Minerals, and asking question where problems on nomenclature should be treated

May 21, 1958: C. Guillemin letter to E. Bohnstedt-Kupletsky on the rules to edict for the commission on New Minerals

August 6, 1958: R.L. Parker letter to C. Guillemin with the report on the Foundation of the International Mineralogical Association and the Statutes and Bye-laws of the IMA

October 3, 1958: C. Guillemin letter to M. Fleischer on the duties of the Commission on New minerals and nomenclature

Archives for the year 1968 and 1981

  • January 8, 19More68:M. Fleischer letter to C. Guillemin on the Commission on New Minerals work

  • January 27, 1968: C. Guillemin letter to Tilley to create a Vice-Chairman position within the Commission on New Minerals

  • 1981 - Bull. Mineralogy, 104, 77-78 - Avant-propos par Claude Guillemin, président de l'IMA.



    Under construction

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