Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution (pron.: /sm?so?ni?n/ smith-soh-nee-?n), established in 1846 "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge", is a group of museums and research centers administered by the United States government. Termed "the nation's attic"[1] for its eclectic holdings of 137 million items,[2] the Institution's Washington, D.C. nucleus of nineteen museums, nine research centers, and zoo—many of them historical or architectural landmarks—is the largest such complex in the world. Additional facilities are located in Arizona, Maryland, New York City, Virginia, Panama and elsewhere, and 168 other museums are Smithsonian affiliates. The Institutions's thirty million annual visitors[3] are admitted without charge; funding comes from the Institution's own endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, government support, and retail, concession and licensing revenues.[2] Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines. British scientist James Smithson (d. 1829) left most of his wealth to a nephew, but when the nephew died childless in 1835, under Smithson's will the estate passed "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men."[4] Congress officially accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation, and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836.[5] The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest; Rush returned in August, 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns (about $500,000 at the time).[6][7] Once the money was in hand, eight years of Congressional haggling ensued over how to interpret Smithson's rather vague mandate "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge."[7][5] UnfortunatelyTemplate:For whom the money was invested[by whom?]in bon

s which soon defaulted. After heated debate, Massachusetts Representative (and ex-President) John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore[clarification needed] the lost funds with interest[8] and, despite designs on the money for other purposes, convinced his colleagues to preserve it for an institution of science and learning.[9] Finally, on August 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust instrumentality of the United States, to be administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian. When the Detroit philanthropist Charles Lang Freer donated his private collection to the Smithsonian and funds to build the museum to hold it (which was named the Freer Gallery), it was among the Smithsonian's first major donations from a private individual. The gallery opened in 1923. Though the Smithsonian's first Secretary, Joseph Henry, wanted the Institution to be a center for scientific research, before long it also became the depository for various Washington and U.S. government collections. The United States Exploring Expedition by the U.S. Navy circumnavigated the globe between 1838 and 1842. The voyage amassed thousands of animal specimens, an herbarium of 50,000 plant specimens, and diverse shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater, and ethnographic artifacts from the South Pacific. These specimens and artifacts became part of the Smithsonian collections, as did those collected by several military and civilian surveys of the American West, including the Mexican Boundary Survey and Pacific Railroad Surveys, which assembled many Native American artifacts and natural history specimens. The Institution became a magnet for natural scientists from 1857 to 1866, who formed a group called the Megatherium Club. Many scientists of a variety of disciplines work at the various Smithsonian museums, which have become centers for research.