Archives Puzzles: Joseph Henry on the Move

Each Monday, sit back, relax, and ease into the work week with puzzles created from images in our collections that have been designated as open access. Anyone can now download, transform, share, and reuse these images as part of Smithsonian Open Access, launched in 2020.

Two years after Joseph Henry passed away, Congress approved an act to contract sculptor William Wetmore Story to create a statue of the Smithsonian’s first Secretary and allotted fifteen thousand dollars for the work. For the unveiling ceremony in 1883, the Institution’s leaders asked famed composer John Philip Sousa to write a march. Approximately 10,000 onlookers watched the Marine Corps Band publicly perform “Transit of Venus” for the first time at the celebration.

Over the years, the statue has been moved from its original home. In 1934, during a regrading of the National Mall, it was relocated from a spot 150 feet northwest of the Smithsonian Institution Building, often known as the Castle, to an area facing the Building’s north entrance. Although Henry’s likeness initially faced the Building, Secretary S. Dillon Ripley had the memorial turned to face other museums on the National Mall in 1965.

The Original

The Puzzle