Tour the 50th Anniversary

The first announcement made to the American Government of this bequest was in 1835, and it was communicated to Congress by President Jackson. After considerable discussion as to the propriety of the acceptance of the trust, the objections of those who considered it unconstitutional were overcome, and an act was passed in June,1836, authorizing the President to appoint an agent to proceed to England to secure the gift for the United States. Hon. Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, was appointed, who succeeded in 1838, after protracted litigation, in procuring a decree from the English Court of Chancery, by which the United States came into possession of the estate of Mr. Smithson, amounting to £104,960 8s. 6d. This amount was shipped in gold to the United States Mint in Philadelphia, where it was recoined into American money, yielding $608,318.46, and made a part of the funds of the Government. In 1864 a residuary legacy of Smithson was received amounting to $26,210.63. By savings of income, profitable investments of interest, etc., in 1867 an addition of $108,620.37 was made to the principal, which was still further increased in 1881 by the sale of Virginia stock, so that the permanent Smithson fund held by the United States Government is now $703,000, yielding an interest, at six per cent., of $42,180, which is the annual income of the Institution.

The proper disposition of the Smithson bequest was discussed by Congress for eight years, and various schemes were considered for accomplishing the words of the will, " The Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge among Men." Finally, on the 10th of August, 1846, a bill was passed as a compromise of conflicting interests and theories, which was regarded as experimental, and probably agreed upon as a convenient way of disposing of a troublesome question. Under this act, which was liberal and comprehensive in its main provisions. and which was still more liberally construed by its administrators, the Institution was organized, has been maintained for more than a third of a century, and has succeeded in attaining its present fame and prosperity.

It has an Honorary Board-"The Establishment"-consisting of the President, Vice-President of the United States, members of the Cabinet, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Commissioner of Patents, which visits the Institution annually. The control and management of the Institution, however, is entrusted to a " Board of Regents," composed of fourteen persons-the Vice-President, the Chief Justice, three Senators, three members of the House of Representatives, and six persons elected by Congress, no two being chosen from one State. Many of the most eminent men in America have been members of this Board, who considered their connection with the Institution not merely as honorary, but manifested interest in its affairs and gave much attention to its management. Among the Regents have been Vice-Presidents Geo. M. Dallas, M. Fillmore, Jno. C. Breckenridge, H. Hamlin, S. Colfas, Henry Wilson, W. A. Wheeler, and C. A. Arthur; Chief Justices Taney, Chase, and Waite; Senators Geo. Evans, S. Breese, L. Cass, J. A. Pearce, Jas. M. Mason, Stephen A. Douglas, L. Trumbull, Garret Davis, W. P. Fessenden, J. W. Stevenson, A. A. Sargent, R. E. Withers, G. F. Hoar, J. S. Morrill; Representatives Robert Dale Owen, H. W. Hilliard, Geo. P. Marsh, Wm. H. English, Hiram Warner, S. S. Cox, E. McPherson, Henry Winter Davis, J. W. Patterson, Jas. A. Garfield, L. P. Poland, J. V. L. Pruyn, E. R. Hoar, B. H. Hill, G. W. McCrary, Ales. H. Stephens. As citizens at large elected by Congress, Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, Gideon Hawley and William B. Astor, of New York; Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania; W. C. Preston, of South Carolina; J. McP. Berrien, of Georgia; Professors Louis Agassiz, C. C. Felton, and Asa Gray, of Harvard University; Presidents Theo. D. Woolsey and Noah Porter, and Professor J. D. Dana, of Yale College, Connecticut; Dr. Jno. Maclean, President of the College of New Jersey; Professor Henry Coppee, President of Lehigh University; Professor A. D. Bathe, Gen. Jos. G. Totten, Gen. R. Delafield, Gen. W. T. Sherman, Hon. Peter Parker, and Hon. George Bancroft, of the city of Washington.

The Presiding Officers, or Chancellors, have been Hon. Geo. M. Dallas, 184G-1849; Hon. Millard Fillmore, 1849-1851; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney,1851-1866; Chief Justice S. P. Chase,1866-1873; Justice Nathan Clifford, 1873, 1874; and Chief Justice Waite, 1874, who still holds the office.

The administration of the Institution was entrusted at the outset, in 1841, to its Secretary, Professor Joseph Henry, of the College of New Jersey, who continued its Chief Executive Officer till his death in 1878, when he was succeeded by Professor Spencer F. Baird, who had been Assistant Secretary from 1850.

The policy of the Institution is to initiate original plans for abstruse research, especially in lines not occupied by other organizations. It freely gives its publications and specimens without requiring an equivalent in return, and places its books, apparatus, and collections at the disposal of investigators and students in any part of the world. It has been the chief promoter of scientific exploration and investigation of the climate, products, and antiquities of the continent by the United States and State Governments, societies, and individuals.

Its work has been in two great lines: First. Stimulating scientific inquiry, initiating and developing interest in various branches of knowledge, calling forth the latent energy of the nation and of individuals, directing it in profitable channels, publishing to the world new discoveries, and bringing about an interchange of thought between scientists everywhere. Second. The establishing, at Washington, of (1) an immense collection of books, unique in character and found nowhere else to so great an extent, viz.: the transactions of learned societies and the records of discovery and invention, and (2) of an unrivalled National Museum of objects of nature and art, with special reference to the illustration of the animal, vegetable, mineral, and industrial resources of the continent of North America.

That in the brief period of its history it has accomplished so much in these directions is attested by the world-wide reputation it has achieved, by the eagerness with which its publications are solicited by learned men, the frequency with which they are quoted, by the confidence of Congress in entrusting to its management large and important interests, by its economical administration by which not a dollar of the original bequest has been lost or squandered, while the permanent fund has increased from half a million to nearly three-quarters of a million dollars-its building, furniture, apparatus, etc., having been paid for entirely out of the income.

To repress the claims of local interests; to prevent the squandering of vast sums on mere architectural display; to provide for an expansive and diffusive influence, not limited to Washington, or even the United States, required the constant watchfulness and untiring energy of the Secretary of the Institution, Professor Joseph Henry, to whom is mainly due the honor of its success. "It was this mind," says Vice-President Hamlin, " that conceived the plan best calculated to accomplish the object designed by Mr. Smithson, and, readily, with a zeal that never faltered, with persistent toil that hardly knew a limit, he pressed on in his noble work until the Institution, under his inspiration, stands to-day recognized and acknowledged as among the first of a like character in the world."

Its publications consist of three series: (1.) Quarto volumes of " Contributions to Knowledge," averaging 600 pages, nothing being admitted which is not a positive addition to the sum of human knowledge vouched for by a commission of experts. (2.) Octavo volumes entitled " Miscellaneous (collections," averaging 800 pages, comprising physical and meteorological tables, constants of nature, manuals for the collection and preservation of objects of natural history, methods of observation of phenomena, special monographs on branches of natural history, physiology, etc. (3.) Octavo volumes of "Annual Reports," averaging 450 pages, consisting of an account of the work of the Institution, of Government and private explorations, reports of lectures, biographies of eminent scientists, translations of valuable foreign scientific papers, and a record of progress in astronomy, geology, geography, mineralogy, botany, chemistry, physics, zoology, anthropology, etc., etc.

It has a library of nearly a hundred thousand volumes deposited in the Library of Congress, to which large additions are made annually by means of its international exchanges with several thousand learned societies in all parts of the world.

The Smithsonian Building stands on a part of a public reservation denominated the " Mall," situated between Seventh and Twelfth streets and north B and south B streets, the site being about twenty feet above the average level of Pennsylvania avenue. The style of architecture is that of the last half of the twelfth century, the latest variety of the rounded style, as it is found immediately anterior to its merging into the early Gothic, and is known as the Norman, the Lombard, or Romanesque. The semi-circular arch, stilted, is employed throughout in doors, windows, and other openings. It is the first edifice in the style of the twelfth century ever erected in this country, and is universally conceded to be one of our finest specimens of architecture. The entire length of the building, from east to west, is 447 feet, greatest breadth 160 feet. The east wing is 82 by 52 feet, the west wing 84 by 40, the main building 205 by 57, and 58 feet high. There are nine towers, the highest of which reaches an elevation of 50 feet. The material employed is a lilac gray freestone, found in the new red sandstone formation where it crosses the Potomac near the mouth of Seneca creek, one of its tributaries, about 23 miles north of Washington. The corner-stone was laid on the first of May, 1847, and the building completed in 1855. In January, 1865, a fire destroyed the interior of the upper story of the main building and the interior of the large north and south towers. These were, soon after, reconstructed in a fireproof manner; and, in 1883, the entire interior of the east wing and range was removed and replaced with fire-proof materials, greatly increasing the number of rooms available for offices, etc.

NATIONAL MUSEUM

The National Museum was established by the Government in 1846 by the act of Congress transferring to the Smithsonian Institution the custody of the specimens collected by the Wilkes Exploring Expedition, which were on exhibition in the Patent Office. The transfer was not made however until 1858. The means for the support of the Museum are furnished by Congress.

The additions to the museum consist of five classes: First. Those from the different Government expeditions, in accordance with the law of Congress. Second. Donations from private individuals, made either spantaneously or in response to special invitations and requests. Third. Results of exchanges with various establishments or individuals at home and abroad. Fourth. From explorations made at the expense of the Smithsonian Institution. Fifth. From purchase, (which is very limited.) It is in this that the National Museum differs from similar establishments throughout the world, which depend very largely upon purchases to secure desired materials.

All specimens of natural history, geology, mining, metallurgy, objects of aboriginal workmanship, ancient or modern, etc., belonging to the United States are contained in this collection.

The museum, however, is not merely a place of deposit for scientific material but, by means of a thorough classification and the illustration of the history of human culture, it is destined to become the most comprehensive and instructive educational exhibit in the world.

The building, commenced in April, 1879, and occupied in 1881, is in the form of a square, with sides of 327 feet extreme length and a central rotunda or dome. Within its walls a net area of 102,200 square feet, or 2 35-100 acres, is covered in by roofs. It contains under-ground basement rooms for a steam-heating apparatus, a steam-engine, coal vaults, &c.

On the main floor there are seventeen halls which freely communicate with one another by wide and lofty archways, furnishing 80,300 square feet of floor space. On the main floor and two upper stories there are 27,400 square feet of floor space divided into 135 rooms for offices, working rooms, photographer, restaurant, etc. There are also about 4,000 square feet floor space in the galleries.

The centre of the building is octagonal on the ground, surmounted by a 16-sided polygon of 67 feet diameter, containing large windows, sur mounted by a slate roof and lantern crowned by a decorated finial. This dome is 77 feet high on the side walls, or 108 feet to the top of the finial.

Four naves, of 65 feet width, 117 feet length, radiate from the dome and extend to the outside walls of the building, forming a Greek cross, over the centre of which the dome rises, and part of the spaces in the exterior angles of the cross are fitted up with halls of 65 feet square and of the same height as the naves, the side walls of both being 42 feet high, while the height to the ridge of the slate roofs is 56 feet. The spaces between the high walls of the Greek cross and the exterior walls of the building are allotted to eight halls, each of 32 feet height.

The main entrances are in the centres of each facade between two towers 86 feet high which act as buttresses for the naves. Between the towers above, and receding from the door-ways, are large arched windows set with ornamental glass. Over the gable of the north nave is an inscription stone "National Museum, 1879," and an allegorical group of statuary designed by C. Buberl, of New York, representing "Columbia as the protectress of science and industry."

Pavilions are placed at the corners. In addition to the windows in the exterior walls, clere-story and dome, lofty lanterns have been provided above the centres of the naves and square halls so as to afford perfect light for this enormous space.

All the masonry above ground is of red brick of superior quality, built hollow, with air spaces for outside walls, ornamented and laid in black mortar for the facing of the exterior walls. To neutralize the monotony which would have been the effect of red-brick fronts of such extent, a number of buff and blue enameled bricks were introduced. A base course of Richmond granite extends around the building. The wrought work of the main entrance, window-sills, inscription plates, copings, etc., are of the Euclid, Ohio, freestone.

The fioor beams, girders, and roofs are of iron, the fioors are fire-proofed by brick arches and concrete. There are no less than thirty-seven roofs, laid upon fire-proofed gratings, as suggested by Gen. Meigs. The slates are fastened to iron purlines. The sash are glazed with two glass for each pane having an intermediate air space.

The fioors of the exhibition halls are of marble and tile, those of the offices and smaller halls are of Florida pine. The interior is plastered in sand finish, washed in tints.

The heating is by low-pressure steam on the system of direct radiation, the apparatus being furnished by Baker, Smith & Co. of New York.

The erection of this building required about five and a quarter million bricks, 3,000 barrels of cement, 5,600 barrels of lime, 4,000 cubic yards Of sand, 2,000 cubic yards of rubble stone, 1,230 cubic yards of concrete, 470 tons of wrought iron, 31,000 square feet of glass, 60,000 plates of slate, 375 boxes of tin, etc.

Cluss & Schulze of Washington were the architects.

Professor Goode, the Assistant Director, remarks:

"The new building more than meets all expectations. The illumination is perfect, the amount of space available for exhibition purposes is undoubtedly the maximum for a building of the size, and the disposition of the exhibition halls in a single level directly upon the surface of the earth, proves to be of great importance both to visitors and to those who have in hand the work of arranging the collections. Over three hundred exhibition cases have been constructed, many of which embody ideas which have never before been used in museum administration. The cases are all of mahogany, finished in the natural color, and have been constructed in accordance with artistic plans furnished by Mr. W. Bruce Gray. Their chief recommendations are the following: (1,) the building consisting practically of a single large hall; the cases are so constructed as to form partitions dividing the hall into seventeen halls of lesser extent; (2,) the cases are all of one length, 8 feet 8 inches, which is the architectural unit of the museum building, or are of such lengths that, combined together, they always conform to this unit, so that they are interchangeable; (3,) the construction is such that, with very slight expenditure of labor, any one of them full of specimens can be transported from one part of the building to another, thus allowing great freedom in the matter of rearranging the museum; (4,) all the smaller specimens are mounted in groups upon small tablets or in glass-covered boxes of uniform size, which can be handled with great facility and which afford great security to the specimens, and diminish immensely the labor of properly caring for them; (5,) the objects are displayed against backgrounds which at the same time afford the greatest ease to the eye of the visitor and the greatest relief and electiveness to the object displayed; (6,) the objects being shown singly against a suitable background, and at the same time brought as close as possible to the glass front of the case, the sense of confusion, so often experienced in museums, is entirely avoided; (7,) the labels are printed in large, heavy-face type and upon paper of soft tints, which are much less wearisome to the eye than the ordinary labels in black and white."

" It is a Museum of Record, in which are preserved the material foundations of an enormous amount of scientific knowledge-the types of numerous past investigations. This is especially the case with those materials which have served as a foundation for the reports upon the resources of the United States. Types of investigations made outside of the Museum are also incorporated."

"It is a Museum of Research, by the policy which aims to make its contents serve as fully as possible as a stimulus to and a foundation for the studies of scientific investigators. Research is necessary in order to identify and group the objects in the most philosophical and instructive relations. Its officers are selected for their ability as investigators, as well as for their trustworthiness and abilities as custodians, and its treasures are open to the use of any student."

"It is an Educational Museum of the broadest type, by reason of its policy of illustrating by specimens every kind of natural object and every manifestation of human thought and activity, by displaying descriptive labels adapted to the popular mind, and by its policy of distributing its publications and its named series of duplicates."

As necessary adjuncts to the work of the Museum, a working library, a chemical laboratory, a photographic establishment, a workshop for taxidermy, modeling, and the preparation of skeletons, and several smaller workshops are carried on as a part of the general work of administration."

THE EXTENT OF THE MUSEUM

Some faint idea of the magnitude and importance of the collections may be gained from an estimate of the number of specimens in the different departments."

Antiquities and ethnology 260,000; Mammals 10,000; Birds and eggs 100,000; Reptiles 27,000; Fishes 70,000; Mollusks 400,000; Insects 150,000; Ores and metals 20,000; Rocks and building-stones 20,000; Minerals and metals 57,000; Marine invertebrates 200,000; Fossil invertebrates and plants 200,000; Arts and industries 15,000.

THE FOUNDER OF TIIE INSTITUTION

JAMES SMITHSON was born in England about 1754, the precise place and date of his birth being uncertain. He was the natural son of Sir Hugh Smithson, Duke of Northumberland, received a liberal education, and was graduated at Pembroke College, Oxford University, May 26, 1786. He was known as James Lewis Marie until his father's death, when he took the name of James Smithson. He never married, and possessed an ample fortune. As a student he had distinguished himself in the line of chemistry, and he devoted the rest of his life to original research, travel, and exploration. He associated himself with the leading societies and men of science in Europe, and his labors and- friendship were highly appreciated by such men as Davy, Arago, Gay-Lussac, Hauy, Biot, and others. He fitted up and carried wherever he went a portable laboratory, and a cabinet of minerals composed of thousands of minute specimens, including all the rarest gems, so that immediate comparison could be made of a novel or undetermined specimen with an accurately arranged and labeled collection. With miniature balances, his weights scarcely exceeding a gram, and with articles so delicate as to be scarcely visible he made the most accurate and satisfactory determination, on one occasion analyzing the tear drop from a lady's cheek. As a chemist he was pronounced by Sir Davies Gilbert, President of the Royal Society, to be the "rival of Wollaston."

Although his principal labors were in analytical chemistry, he distinguished himself by his researches in mineralogy and crystallography, paying the closest attention to accuracy in experiment and precision of statement as to his results.

One of his sentiments has been adopted as the motto on the publications of the Institution, which bears his name, and was founded by his bequest, viz.: "Every man is a valuable member of society, who, by his observations, researches, and experiments, procures knowledge for men."

The mineral species, "Smithsonite," a carbonate of zinc, was discovered and analyzed by him among some ores from Somersetshire, England, the name being conferred on it by the great French mineralogist, Beudant.

He analyzed an immense variety of specimens from the vegetable kingdom particularly with regard to their coloring matter.

He did not confine his attention to abstract science, but contributed knowledge to such practical matter as the construction of lamps, and the making of tea and coffee. He spent much time in the preparation of a cyclopedia, or dictionary of universal knowledge which was not completed at the time of his death.

Smithson's contributions to scientific literature consist, so far as known, of twenty-seven papers, eight of which were published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society between the years 1791 and 1817, and nineteen in Thomson's Annals of Philosophy between 1819 and 1825. These papers have recently been collected and reprinted by the Smithsonian Institution.

Smithson died on the 27th June, 1829, at Genoa, Italy, where he was buried in the Protestant cemetery about a mile west of the town. His grave is marked by a handsome marble monument, and is enclosed by an iron fence with grey marble corner posts. On one side is the inscription "Sacred to the memory of James Smithson, Esq., Fellow of the Royal Society, London, who died at Genoa, 26th June, 1829, aged seventy-five years;" on the other: "This monument is erected, and the ground on which it stands purchased in perpetuity by Henry Hungerford, Esq., the deceased's nephew, in token of gratitude to a generous benefactor, and as a tribute to departed worth."

The will of Smithson was prepared and written by himself on the 23d October, 1826, three years before his death. Its provisions are so remarkable that they have been attributed by some to a mere whim or eccentricity, but a study of the man's character and peculiarities reveal the fact that his language was well chosen and precise, his views broad and comprehensive, and his desire for fame founded on respect for the United States, confidence in republican institutions, and faith in their perpetuity. The first great awakening in England of a popular desire for knowledge, the vigorous appeals of Lord Brougham in behalf of general education, and the activity of learned men in establishing scientific societies, took place during the latter part of the life of Smithson, attracted his attention, and caused his admiration. He, therefore, determined to show his appreciation of knowledge, and his harmony with the spirit of the age by bequeathing his whole fortune " 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 among men."

The desire for posthumous fame has led many individuals to rear monuments to themselves by attaching their names to mere local establishments, such as libraries, schools, colleges, etc., in their native or some favorite town; but James Smithson is the only person who has associated his name and bequest with a nation, and provided that the benefits of his munificence should be for all mankind.

In 1884 the Institution received from Mr. J. D. Enys, a grandson of Davies Gilbert, President of the Royal Society of England, the following letter written by SMITHSON, dated Paris, May 9th, 1792, which fully establishes the fact of the republican sympathies of the founder of this Institution:

" DEAR SIR: Your letter did not reach London until after I was come out of town, and followed me here. I really take it exceedingly ill of you to have forgot my crystals, and beg of you to make quick and ample atonement for it. I do not now remember what particular ones I requested you to procure me, but any you bring shall, king-like be graciously received, as a testimony of your good intentions. Well! Things are going on ! Ca ira is growing the song of England, of Europe, as well as of France. Men of every rank are joining in the chorus. Stupidity and guilt have had a long reign, and it begins, indeed, to he time for justice and common sense to have their turn. The office which you have been lately named to will, I hope, afford you means of promoting their cause. Every Englishman I converse with, almost every Englishman I see or hear of, appears to be of the democratic party. Mr. Davis, high sheriff for Dorsetshire, left this town to-day and takes with him, it seems, a quantity of tricolor ribbon to deck his men with the French national cockades, and I do not think this example unworthy of imitation by those whose principles lead them to consider with indifference and contempt the frowns of the court party to whom, doubtless, the mixture of red, white, and blue is an object of horror. I do not tell you news of this country, as the English papers inform vou pretty faithfully of the manner in which it goes on. You have understood, I hope, that the church is now here quite unacknowledged by the state, and is indeed allowed to exist only till they have leisure to give it the final death-stroke. Mr. Louis Bourbon is still at Paris, and the office of king is not yet abolished, but they daily feel the inutility, or rather great inconvenience, of continuing it, and its duration will probably not be long. May other nations, at the time of their reforms, be wise enough to cast off, at first, the contemptible incumbrance. I consider a nation with a king as a man who takes a lion as a guard-dog -if he knocks out his teeth he renders him useless, while if he leaves the lion his teeth the lion eats him."

For more than thirty years the various Government expeditions sent out to make explorations and surveys of the unsettled and comparatively unknown portions of our national domain, or to collect material relative to its resources, climate, or natural history, have been furnished by Professor

Baird with the outfits required for observation and collection of specimens, and with full and minute instructions for the advance of science. In most cases he has also suggested the appointment of the naturalists to accompany these expeditions, and enlisted the co-operation of the officers in charge of them.

To him has largely been confided the editing of the reports of these espeditions and the selection of artists for their illustration. By his influence mainly Congress has been induced to order their publication in large numbers, and in a style worthy of the nation. Hundreds of young naturalists in all parts of the country have been encouraged and stimulated in their work by his advice, sympathy, and material aid, and by the co-operation he has secured from the Smithsonian Institution.

He has presented his private library and all his own collections, many of them types of great value, to the National Museum.

In 1871 he was appointed, by the President, as U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, and as such has instituted a series of researches and published valuable reports which are known and have received commendation all over the world. He has received various honorary titles and memberships from foreign societies, and in 187o the decoration of "Knight of St. Olaf" from the King of Norway and Sweden.

From 1870 to 1878 he was scientific editor of the periodicals and "Annual Record of Science and Industry" published by Harper & Brothers.

On the death of Professor Henry, in 1878, he was unanimously elected his successor as Secretary and Director of the Smithsonian Institution.

He was awarded the silver medal of the Acclimatization Society of Melbourne in 1878, the gold medal of the Societe d'Acclimatation of France in 1879, and in 1880 the first grand prize of the International Fishery Exhibition at Berlin.

He was one of the earliest members of the National Academy of Sciences, and is a member of the leading scientific societies of Europe and America.

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