The Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum and research complex in the world. It houses a total of nineteen museums and nine research centers. In addition, the Smithsonian Institution works directly with an additional one hundred forty museums around the world.
It is a larger than life Institution with one foot firmly planted in scientific pursuit and advancement, and the other planted in science fiction. Yet, prior to government involvement and legislation, the Smithsonian was merely one man’s beneficiary – as recorded in his Will.
British scientist, James Smithson drew up a Will in 1826, naming his nephew as beneficiary. He added that should the nephew die without heirs, the estate should go to “the United States of America, to fund at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”
Smithson himself died in 1829. His nephew followed without heir in 1835. In 1836, President Andrew Jackson announced the bequest to Congress. Smithson generously donated more than $500,000.
A lot has changed since 1836. The expansion and growth of the Smithsonian is in no small part due to moneys collected as: gifts, grants, trust endowments, funds appropriated by Congress, and revenue created by the Smithsonian Institution itself.
Yet, “the nation’s attic” as it has been affectionately nicknamed, which houses both the Hope Diamond and the Ruby Slippers; and draws an estimated thirty million visitors per year, would not exist if not for the generosity of one man and his very well drafted Will.
