Arc measurement of Delambre and Méchain
The arc measurement of Delambre and Méchain was a geodetic survey carried out by Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre Méchain in 1792–1798 to measure an arc section of the Paris meridian between Dunkirk and Barcelona. This arc measurement served as the basis for the original definition of the metre.
Source: Wikipedia — Arc measurement of Delambre and Méchain (CC BY-SA 4.0)