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April 5, 2021 Share
The Smithsonian Institution is marking its 175th anniversary this year, and it expects to celebrate later this year with a futuristic exhibition that includes a robot to help prevent loneliness and a sail for deep space travel.
The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum complex, consisting of 19 museums, nine research centers, and the National Zoo.
Established by the U.S. Congress in 1846, the Smithsonian was the brainchild of James Smithson, a wealthy English chemist who left his estate to the United States for the establishment of an institution in the nation’s capital “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” With that broad concept, said Smithsonian historian Pamela Henson, the institution began collecting a vast array of items ranging from artwork to insects.
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The Smithsonian is an American treasure with its museums, the National Zoo, the tropical research station in Panama, astrophysical observatory and many other cultural, scientific and historical resources.
But did you know that the thanks for the massive institution go to a British man who never visited the United States?
James Smithson was a wealthy British scientist who was especially interested in chemistry and minerals. Three years before he died in 1829, he wrote in his will that his closest relative, a nephew, would inherit his estate, which was worth more than $13 million in today’s dollars. However, if his nephew didn’t have children, the money would go to the United States and the creation of “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” He declared the place would be called the Smithsonian.