The First International Congress of History of Oceanography took place in 1966 at the Institut Océanographique of Monaco under the patronage of Prince Albert I - supported by UNESCO and the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science/Division of History of Science and Technology. Due to the great success of this Congress with 182 contributions from 17 nations (3 volumes of proceedings) the establishment of a commission was decided in 1968.

Since then, the Commission has organized seven international congresses of the history of marine sciences and sometimes special sessions at General Assemblies of the Union, listed at this link.

Beyond these sporadic events, the Commission serves the community, of who are interested in history of oceanography, by distributing an annual newsletter “History of Oceanography” since 1989. It presents short historical articles, news and events, and lists recent publications on this topic.