The roots of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science/Division of History of Science and Technology (IUHPS/DHST) go back to 1928, when a small group of historians of science, led by the Italian Aldo Mieli and the Belgian-American George Sarton, founded the International Academy of History of Science.

Over the years the Academy evolved from a society of individual members into an organization largely made up of national committees. In 1947 the group reorganized as the International Union of History of Science and joined the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), the world’s leading non-governmental organization in the field of science and an affiliate of UNESCO.

In 1956, at the urging of ICSU, the historians of science merged with the International Union of Philosophy of Science to form the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPS), which comprises two distinct units: the Division of History of Science and Technology (DHST) and the Division of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science (DLMPS). In 1971 the DHST amicably separated from the Academy, which became an association of distinguished scholars.

Composed of about 50 national committees and over a dozen scientific commissions, the DHST leads the world in promoting the history of science. It will hold its twenty-fourth international congress in Manchester, UK, July 2013.