Science for peace
CERN's foundational motto "Science for peace" was born out of the devastation of WWII. Grouping European scientists under a single roof was a crucial step towards rebuilding ties and fostering peace on the continent.
What's in a name?
The historical document that laid out the framework for CERN outlines the original signatures and agreements made by founding member states. It established the formal structure that would guide the organization through decades of pioneering research.
A steering committee was formed to draft the provisional agreement that established the European Council for Nuclear Research (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire in French), which gave CERN its acronym.
The name was eventually changed to the European Organization for Nuclear Research, but the familiar acronym CERN was kept.
In a speech delivered in 1954, Isidor Rabi proposed the creation of a "laboratory of laboratories" that would unite European nations through fundamental research.
And so it begins
In June 1953, the provisional CERN Council met to choose Geneva as the site for the new laboratory. The Swiss electorate voted in favor, and the cornerstone was laid in October 1954 in Meyrin. On 29 September 1954, the convention officially entered into force, and the European Organization for Nuclear Research was born, replacing the provisional council.
Soon after, construction began on the first particle accelerators, setting the stage for future landmark discoveries.
In July 1957, the Synchro-Cyclotron (SC) delivered its first proton beam.
Since then, CERN has continuously expanded its facilities, leading to major discoveries like the Higgs boson and contributing significantly to the foundation of modern computing, including the invention of the World Wide Web.