This year CERN is celebrating its 60th anniversary. In 1954 visitors to the rural landscape of Meyrin, on the outskirts of Geneva, would have had little idea that this place would become home to the largest, most complex experiments ever devised. Today the laboratory is a hub for physicists, engineers, computer scientists and students from around the globe. 

CERN’s origins can be traced back to the late 1940s, when a divided Europe was emerging from the ashes of war. A small group of visionary scientists and public administrators, on both sides of the Atlantic, identified fundamental research as a potential vehicle to rebuild the continent and foster peace in a troubled region. It was from these ideas that CERN was born on 29 September 1954, with a dual mandate to provide excellent science, and to bring nations together.

To learn about the celebrations of CERN’s 60th anniversary, visit the CERN60 website.

View a larger version of this photograph on the CERN Document Server.