Naturalist's Almanac

With the school year about to begin, August 10 might be a good time to think about the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." Thanks to a wealthy English scientist who died without heirs, we've had a national institution dedicated to that purpose since August 10, 1846.

James Louis Macie Smithson, whose fortune made the Smithsonian Institution possible, actually died in 1829, but the first part of his will left his estate in trust to a nephew. When that nephew died childless, the last sentence of Smithson's handwritten will suddenly became significant.

In the event that Smithson had no surviving heirs, his will, in what seems like an idealistic afterthought, bequeathed everything "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 ... ."

Smithson's fortune, when it was shipped across the Atlantic and reminted into American coins, amounted to $508,318.46. From that nest egg, the Smithsonian has grown into sixteen museums and galleries plus a zoo in Washington, D.C., two museums in New York City, and several research stations elsewhere. One of the oldest of the Smithsonian's collections — and the one that would have been of most interest to Smithson himself — is housed in the National Museum of Natural History. This collection includes over 100 million specimens, only a small percentage of which are on display. The rest are stored behind the scenes for scientific study and reference.

Some of the natural history treasures that Smithson, who was a chemist and mineralogist, would have especially enjoyed are the world's oldest fossil, some moon rocks, and the Hope Diamond. There are also thousands of plant and animal specimens collected by some of our earliest naturalists plus several game animals shot by Theodore Roosevelt specifically for the Smithsonian.

One of of my own Smithsonian favorites is the external architecture of the original building — the Castle — which was completed in 1855. In 1977, a pair of Barn Owls — named Increase and Diffusion in honor of Smithson — nested in one of the towers. Today the Castle houses offices, including the Information Office, which I still sometimes call to ask questions.

MORE INFORMATION

The Smithsonian
http://www.si.edu

The Smithsonian’s Web site is full of interesting material. They explain their history in detail under About the Smithsonian. The two features of this state-of-the-art Web site that are most visually stimulating to explore are their Online Photo Collections and The Virtual Smithsonian. The Virtual Smithsonian showcases 340 artifacts, including great photos of a few of their butterflies and beetles.

Encyclopedia Smithsonian
http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/

Choose a topic from Art to Zoology and explore what the Smithsonian has. This is a rich and interesting resource. I’ve been to the Smithsonian several times, and I would have never guessed that they had so much to offer.

Smithsonian - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution

This substantial article offers a color photograph of the Smithsonian on the first page and another one later on. It includes a list of all the Secretaries so far plus all the museums it runs plus all its research centers. The author of the article mentions some controversial matters that sound intriguing, and at the end of the article there’s a list of external links to help with further research.