Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is a museum complex with most of its facilities in Washington, D.C. It consists of 19 museums and seven research centers, and has 142 million items in its collections.

History

The Smithsonian Institution was founded for the promotion and dissemination of knowledge by a bequest to the United States by the British scientist James Smithson (1765–1829). In Smithson's will, he stated that should his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, die without heirs, the Smithson estate would go to the United States of America for establishing an "Establishment for the increase & diffusion of Knowledge among men". After the nephew died without heirs in 1835, President Andrew Jackson informed Congress of the bequest, which amounted to 100,000 gold sovereigns, or $500,000 U.S. dollars ($9,235,277 in 2005 U.S. dollars after inflation).

Related Topics:
United States - James Smithson - 1765 - 1829 - 1835 - Andrew Jackson - Congress - Gold sovereign - U.S. dollars

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Act of Congress: Eight years later, Congress passed an act establishing the Smithsonian Institution, a typically American hybrid public/private partnership, and the act was signed into law on August 10, 1846 by James Polk. (See {{UnitedStatesCode|20|41}} (Ch. 178, Sec. 1, 9 Stat. 102).) The bill was drafted by Indiana Democratic Congressman Robert Dale Owen, a Socialist and son of Robert Owen, the father of the cooperative movement.

Related Topics:
August 10 - 1846 - James Polk - Indiana - Democratic - Congressman - Robert Dale Owen - Socialist - Robert Owen - Cooperative

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The castellated architecture of the Smithsonian Institution Building on the National Mall has made it known informally as "The Castle". It was built by architect James Renwick, Jr. and completed in 1855. Many of the other buildings are also historical and architectural landmarks.

Related Topics:
National Mall - James Renwick, Jr.

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The voyage of the US Navy circumnavigating the globe between 1838 and 1842 amassed thousands of animal specimens, a herbarium of 50,000 examples, shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater and ethnographic specimens from the South Pacific.

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The military and civilian surveys in the American West assembled many Native American artifacts as well as natural history specimens.

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The Institution became a magnet for natural scientists from 1857 to 1866, who formed a group called the Megatherium Club.

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The asteroid 3773 Smithsonian is named in honor of the Institution.

Related Topics:
Asteroid - 3773 Smithsonian

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