1846 : Smithsonian Institution created
After a decade of debate about how best to spend a bequest left to
America from an obscure English scientist, President James K. Polk
signs the Smithsonian Institution Act into law.
In 1829, James Smithson died in Italy, leaving behind a will with a
peculiar footnote. In the event that his only nephew died without any
heirs, Smithson decreed that the whole of his estate would go to "the
United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of
the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge." Smithson's curious bequest to a country that
he had never visited aroused significant attention on both sides of
the Atlantic.
Smithson had been a fellow of the venerable Royal Society of London
from the age of 22, publishing numerous scientific papers on mineral
composition, geology, and chemistry. In 1802, he overturned popular
scientific opinion by proving that zinc carbonates were true carbonate
minerals, and one type of zinc carbonate was later named smithsonite
in his honor.
Six years after his death, his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, indeed
died without children, and on July 1, 1836, the U.S. Congress
authorized acceptance of Smithson's gift. President Andrew Jackson
sent diplomat Richard Rush to England to negotiate for transfer of the
funds, and two years later Rush set sail for home with 11 boxes
containing a total of 104,960 gold sovereigns, 8 shillings, and 7
pence, as well as Smithson's mineral collection, library, scientific
notes, and personal effects. After the gold was melted down, it
amounted to a fortune worth well over $500,000. After considering a
series of recommendations, including the creation of a national
university, a public library, or an astronomical observatory, Congress
agreed that the bequest would support the creation of a museum, a
library, and a program of research, publication, and collection in the
sciences, arts, and history. On August 10, 1846, the act establishing
the Smithsonian Institution was signed into law by President James K.
Polk.
Today, the Smithsonian is composed of 19 museums and galleries
including the recently announced National Museum of African American
History and Culture, nine research facilities throughout the United
States and the world, and the national zoo. Besides the original
Smithsonian Institution Building, popularly known as the "Castle,"
visitors to Washington, D.C., tour the National Museum of Natural
History, which houses the natural science collections, the National
Zoological Park, and the National Portrait Gallery. The National
Museum of American History houses the original Star-Spangled Banner
and other artifacts of U.S. history. The National Air and Space Museum
has the distinction of being the most visited museum in the world,
exhibiting such marvels of aviation and space history as the Wright
brothers' plane and Freedom 7, the space capsule that took the first
American into space. John Smithson, the Smithsonian Institution's
great benefactor, is interred in a tomb in the Smithsonian Building.
history.com/tdih.do
1821 : New state west of the Mississippi
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5247
1977 : Son of Sam arrested
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6985
2003 : Temperatures in UK top 100 F for first time during European heat wave
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5249
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After a decade of debate about how best to spend a bequest left to
America from an obscure English scientist, President James K. Polk
signs the Smithsonian Institution Act into law.
In 1829, James Smithson died in Italy, leaving behind a will with a
peculiar footnote. In the event that his only nephew died without any
heirs, Smithson decreed that the whole of his estate would go to "the
United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of
the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and
diffusion of knowledge." Smithson's curious bequest to a country that
he had never visited aroused significant attention on both sides of
the Atlantic.
Smithson had been a fellow of the venerable Royal Society of London
from the age of 22, publishing numerous scientific papers on mineral
composition, geology, and chemistry. In 1802, he overturned popular
scientific opinion by proving that zinc carbonates were true carbonate
minerals, and one type of zinc carbonate was later named smithsonite
in his honor.
Six years after his death, his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, indeed
died without children, and on July 1, 1836, the U.S. Congress
authorized acceptance of Smithson's gift. President Andrew Jackson
sent diplomat Richard Rush to England to negotiate for transfer of the
funds, and two years later Rush set sail for home with 11 boxes
containing a total of 104,960 gold sovereigns, 8 shillings, and 7
pence, as well as Smithson's mineral collection, library, scientific
notes, and personal effects. After the gold was melted down, it
amounted to a fortune worth well over $500,000. After considering a
series of recommendations, including the creation of a national
university, a public library, or an astronomical observatory, Congress
agreed that the bequest would support the creation of a museum, a
library, and a program of research, publication, and collection in the
sciences, arts, and history. On August 10, 1846, the act establishing
the Smithsonian Institution was signed into law by President James K.
Polk.
Today, the Smithsonian is composed of 19 museums and galleries
including the recently announced National Museum of African American
History and Culture, nine research facilities throughout the United
States and the world, and the national zoo. Besides the original
Smithsonian Institution Building, popularly known as the "Castle,"
visitors to Washington, D.C., tour the National Museum of Natural
History, which houses the natural science collections, the National
Zoological Park, and the National Portrait Gallery. The National
Museum of American History houses the original Star-Spangled Banner
and other artifacts of U.S. history. The National Air and Space Museum
has the distinction of being the most visited museum in the world,
exhibiting such marvels of aviation and space history as the Wright
brothers' plane and Freedom 7, the space capsule that took the first
American into space. John Smithson, the Smithsonian Institution's
great benefactor, is interred in a tomb in the Smithsonian Building.
history.com/tdih.do
1821 : New state west of the Mississippi
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5247
1977 : Son of Sam arrested
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6985
2003 : Temperatures in UK top 100 F for first time during European heat wave
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5249
###############################################
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