Subject: Origin of the meter

I am a grad student in secondary education, and in my 
secondary chemistry classroom where I am observing, the 
question came up " How did the meter get designated the 
size that it presently is?"  This of course leads to the 
origin of the entire metric system.  I would be most 
grateful to be able to pass on this info to some future 
scientists.  Thank you,  
Judy Bissonnette

Re: Origin of the meter