The Society traces its origins back to an organization of young Parisian chemists who began meeting in May 1857 under the name Société Chimique, with the goal of self-study and mutual education.  In 1858 the established chemist Adolphe Wurtz joined the society, now named the Société Chimique de Paris, and immediately transformed it into a learned society modeled after the Chemical Society of London, which was the precursor of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Like its British counterpart, the French association sought to foster the communication of new ideas and facts throughout France and across international borders. In 1906, the society changed its name from Société Chimique de Paris to Société Chimique de France; in 1983 it became the Société Française de Chimie; and in 2009 it returned to the name Société Chimique de France.