Abstract: This chapter details the establishment of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The NPL is one of the world's great national standards laboratories. In his presidential address to the British Association in 1895, Sir Douglas Galton called for the creation of a NPL supported by government funding. It was decided that a public institution should be established to determine and verify instruments, test materials, determine physical constants, and undertake investigations into the strength and durability of materials. The work of the NPL up to World War II is discussed.

Keywords: NPL, national standards laboratories, Sir Douglas Galton, interwar period, World War II,