The Smithsonian Institution is a group of museums and research centers administered by the United States government and based mainly in Washington, D.C. It was established by an act of Congress, signed by President James K. Polk in August 1846, to carry out the bequest of James Smithson, a British scientist who left his fortune to the United States for an institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge, although he had never visited the country. Joseph Henry, a physicist, was its first secretary. The institution grew to include the National Museum of Natural History, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History and the National Zoological Park, among many others. Its collections contain well over a hundred million objects, and most of its museums are free to enter.
Before and after
- 5 January 1846Birth of Rudolf Christoph Eucken
- from 24 April 1846 to 2 February 1848Mexican-American War
- 5 May 1846Birth of Henryk Sienkiewicz
- from 15 June 1846 to 13 January 1847Conquest of California
- 10 August 1846Founding of Smithsonian Institution
- 23 September 1846Discovery of Neptune
- 10 October 1846Discovery of Triton
- 1847Construction of Carlsberg Group
- 1847Publication of Il Canto degli Italiani
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of La Marseillaise
- 7 May 1824Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premieres
- c. 1860sImpressionism
- 26 November 1865Publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- 19 March 1882Construction of Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family
- from 1886 to 1905Rise of Post-impressionism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.