In
June, 1829, in Genoa, Italy, English scientist James Smithson
died after a long illness, 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.
Educated
at Pembroke College, Oxford, James Smithson went on to conduct
research in chemistry, mineralogy and geology. Based on his chemical
analysis of calamines, a carbonate of zinc was renamed smithsonite
in his honor in 1832.
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, eight
shillings, and seven 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 18 museums and galleries and many
research facilities throughout the United States and the world.
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 historic
US artifacts.
The
National Air and Space Museum has the distinction of being the
most visited museum in the world, exhibiting marvels of aviation
and space history such as the Wright brothers' plane and Freedom
7, the space capsule that took the first American into space.
James Smithson, the Smithsonian Institution's great benefactor,
is interred in a tomb in
the Smithsonian Building.
James
Smithson's generous act of philanthropy began a tradition of giving
that has been carried on by succeeding generations of donors.
Read
more at: James
Smithson's Gift ~Source:
Bob Osgoodby's Tip of The Day
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