[5] The ISSMGE originated in the International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, held in June 1936 at Harvard University as one of many events held to mark the university's 300th anniversary.

Arthur Casagrande of the Harvard faculty gained university support for an international conference on soil mechanics and successfully persuaded Karl Terzaghi, who was then working in Vienna, to preside.

[6] An executive committee was set up, with Terzaghi as the first president, Casagrande as its first secretary, and Philip Rutledge, also of Harvard, as treasurer.

[13] The current name, the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, was adopted in 1997.

[4] ISSMGE is a member of the Federation of International Geo-Engineering Societies (FedIGS).