History of the Smithsonian Institute

The Smithsonian is one of the most fascinating and educational places on earth. It consists of 19 museums, 13 research centers, a zoo, and has millions and millions of items in its collection. But how did it all start?

The Smithsonian started in Britain actually, with a will from a British scientist named James Smithson, in 1835, when the nephew died leaving no heirs. James had a thing for education and teaching others. Therefore, he put in the will that if the nephew died with no heirs, his estate would go to the U. S. Government for increased knowledge and educational purposes. Nobody really knew why James did this, as he never set foot in America in his life.

Then President Andrew Jackson told Congress of the bequest which then 104,960 gold sovereigns or $500,000 was in that time... about $10 million in today's currency. Eight years later, congress passed a law establishing the Smithsonian institution and signed by James Polk in 1846.

The first secretary of the Smithsonian, John Henry wanted it to be a scientific research center. It wasn't long before it became a collecting center for anything deemed important to the country, including the collections from the government and around Washington D.C.

Between 1838 and 1842, the Navy went around the world collecting species of everything they could fine. The military also gave the institution it's collection on the American West of that time.

The Smithsonian is legally part of the Federal government. It is a trust that was enacted by Congress and more than 2/3 of the people at the Institution are federal employees. There are about 7,000 people working for the Smithsonian, in all it's branches together.

The head of the Institution is called a Chancellor, which is held by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Eight of the members on the board of regent's are members of congress. The VP and the Chief Justice are two; there are 3 from the Senate appointed by the VP, and 3 from the House of Rep, appointed by the Speaker of the House. The remaining 9 are non-congressman members appointed by a joint effort by Congress. The day to day running is done by a salaried 'secretary' picked out by the board of regents.

There are items from every era, time and period of this country, from colonial times up through the pop culture. The 2 chairs from the hit TV show.. 'Archie Bunker' are on display, as is the leather jacket from 'The Fonz' from the TV show 'Happy Days'.