International Hydrographic Organization
The IHO was established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB). The present name was adopted in 1970 as part of a new international Convention on the IHO adopted by the then member nations. The former name International Hydrographic Bureau was retained to describe the IHO secretariat until 8 November 2016, when a revision to the Convention on the IHO entered into force. Thereafter the IHB became known as the "IHO Secretariat", comprising an elected Secretary-General and two supporting Directors, together with a small staff of 17, at the Organization's headquarters in Monaco.
List of Members of the International Hydrographic Organization
Non-domestic hydrographic and bathymetric surveys are conducted by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, which started with the establishment of the Depot of Charts and Instruments in 1830 that by 1854 was designated the U.S. Naval Observatory and Hydrographical Office. The hydrographic portion became the U.S. Naval Hydrographic Office under the Hydrographer of the Navy, appointed from uniformed personnel from 1870 through 1961. With the popularization of oceanography in the early 1960s (partly due to President John F. Kennedy's interest), the name was changed to the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office in 1962. That office, as a matter of historical and semantic interest, and the U.S. Naval Observatory are still part of the command overseen by the "Oceanographer of the Navy," with headquarters at the Naval Observatory. In 2001, the position of "Hydographer of the Navy" was re-established.