The Smithsonian was founded in 1846 with funds from Englishman James Smithson (1765–1829), as set forth in his will; “under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” We continue to honor this mission and invite you to join us in our quest to shape the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world. Here the Castle, our first home, is flanked by the Asian and African Art museums.

Smithson's mother lived near the City of Bath, seen here in 1768. Elizabeth Hungerford Keate Macie was from the nearby town of Weston and in 1761 enjoyed the freedom of widowhood and the elaborate social life of Bath, a favorite playground for the upper class. It is suspected that this is where she met and had an affair with Sir Hugh Smithson. This led to the birth c. 1765 of James, who would one day leave his estate to the US government for the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.

After living in both France and England, on May 7, 1782, Smithsonian enrolled in Pembroke College, Oxford. He attended Pembroke from 1782 to 1786, studying geology and mineralogy.

The natural sciences sparked his interest, and he established a solid reputation as a chemist and mineralogist during the exciting period in the late 1700s when chemistry was being developed as a new science. Committed to discovering the basic elements, he worked diligently to collect mineral and ore samples from European countries. Under the name of James Lewis Macie, he was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London on April 26, 1787; then at Burlington house and later, Carlton House.

James Smithson wrote a draft of his Last Will and Testament in 1826 in London, only three years before his death. A plaque on the front of his London home declares: "James Smithson, 1764-1829 - Scientist Founder of the Smithsonian Institution lived here."

Smithson died on June 27, 1829, in Genoa, Italy. He left his estate to his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, stating that if his nephew died without an heir, the money would go "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 ...." This indeed came to pass, and Smithson's estate eventually came to the US, where a debate would begin about just what this new institution should be.

To settle disputes with Smithson's relatives, Richard Rush, an attorney from Philadelphia, filed a lawsuit in London to get the Smithson estate for the United States. In just two years, Rush won a judgment for the US from the Chancery Court that met here in Westminster Hall, disposed of Smithson's properties, and converted the proceeds to gold sovereigns.

"The Mediator" transported Richard Rush, along with James Smithson's legacy in the form of gold sovereigns packed in eleven boxes, as well as his personal effects including his mineral cabinet, library, and scientific writings, across the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrived in New York harbor on August 29, 1838, and the personal effects were deposited with the collector of the Port of New York on September 1, then housed in what is now the Federal Hall National Memorial.

When the estate was delivered to the US Mint in Philadelphia in Sept. 1838, it totaled $508,318.46. The mint has moved several times, but stood as seen in this photo at what is now the site of the Philadelphia Municiple Court Civil Division, at the corner of Juniper and Chestnut Streets.

The National Institute for the Promotion of Science acquired James Smithson’s personal effects, displaying them in the National Gallery of the Patent Office beginning in 1842. This is one of Smithson’s calling cards, or carte de visite, from 1825. The Patent Office is now home to the Smithsonian’s Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture.

Congressional debates regarding Smithson's bequest continued until August 10, 1846 when legislation, seen here, was passed creating the Smithsonian Institution. It reads in part: “James Smithson, esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, having by his last will and testament given the whole of his property 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 Smithsonian was founded in 1846 with funds from Englishman James Smithson (1765–1829), as set forth in his will; “under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” We continue to honor this mission and invite you to join us in our quest to shape the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world. Here the Castle, our first home, is flanked by the Asian and African Art museums.

Unfortunately, a fire in the Smithsonian Institution Building in 1865 destroyed many of the Smithson letters, diaries, and other papers originally acquired by the Institution. As a result of the fire, the Smithsonian Institution Archives does not have very many of James Smithson's original letters or other papers. This photograph was taken and heavily retouched by Alexander Gardner, who painted flames on the photographic print. The vantage point is close to the present Smithsonian Metro stop.

Smithson's remains were initially intered in 1829 in Genoa, at the cemetery of the Church of the Holy Ghost. In Dec. of 1903 the Smithsonian Board of Regents appointed Regent Alexander Graham Bell to relocate Smithson's remains to Washington. Mr. Bell and his wife traveled to Genoa later that month, and disinterred Smithson's remains. On Jan. 2, 1904, the casket was enclosed in a coffin of strong wood and covered with the American flag. The Smithson Memorial Tablet is seen here in the church.

Seen here in the harbour at Genoa, the steamship Princess Irene prepares to sail for New York on Jan. 7, 1904, carrying Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel, who took the photo, along with Smithson's remains. On Jan. 16 the Los Angeles Herald reported, “The US steamship Dolphin left the Washington navy yard today for New York, to receive the remains of James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institute, which are on the steamer Prinzess Irene from Genoa, due at New York on the 20th.”

Why did Smithson leave his estate to a country he had never visited? Perhaps these words provide a clue. “The best blood of England flows in my veins…but this avails me not. My name shall live in the memory of man when the titles of the Northumberlands and the Percys are extinct and forgotten.”​​ Today, the Smithsonian Institution and its 21 free museums, Zoo, and globe-spanning research centers, are the blossoms on the Tree of Knowledge that sprouted from the amazing bequest of James Smithson.