Today is the 162nd birthday of the Smithsonian Institute. On August 10, 1846, President James Polk signed an Act passed by Congress establishing the Smithsonian as a trust, to be administered by a Board of Trustees and a Secretary of the Institution. The impetus for this Act was a bequest by a British scientist, James Smithson, who left his estate to his nephew, unless his nephew died without heirs in which case the estate went to the United States of America to “found at Washington, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Smithson’s nephew died in 1835, the money was delivered to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1838 and Congress debated the situation for eight years before passing the 1846 Act.
In October 1881, after the second Secretary of the Smithsonian, Spencer F. Baird had ensured that naturalists accompanied every government expedition exploring the western reaches of the continent, the National Museum opened. Housed in 80,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Museum displayed exhibits related to geology, metallurgy, zoology, medicine, anthropology, art, history, medicine, and agriculture. Today, the Smithsonian Institute includes sixteen museums, several research centers, the National Zoo, the Smithsonian Institute Libraries, the Smithsonian Magazine, the Smithsonian Institute Press, the Traveling Exhibition Service and an Office of Education. Most of the museums are free of charge and centrally located in the heart of Washington, DC. In 2007, 24.2 million people visited the museums of the Smithsonian; 2.6 million people visited the National Zoo. With more than 136 million collections as of 2007, the Smithsonian has grown by grand proportions. Today’s Smithsonian Institute strives to serve the nation and the world in ways that would make James Smithson proud.
As a near-by resident, I have had the pleasure of enjoying countless hours exploring the network of museums and would recommend that anyone visiting the area dedicate at least a couple of days to doing the same.
