Agency history, 1961-1984

Subject

• Pogue, Forrest C
• Hutchins, James S
• Marshall, George C (George Catlett) 1880-1959
• Smithsonian Institution National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board
• National Museum of History and Technology (U.S.) Dwight D. Eisenhower Institute for Historical Research
• National Museum of American History (U.S.) Division of Armed Forces History

Category

Agency History

Notes

• This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
• Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, 1996
• The Dwight D. Eisenhower Institute for Historical Research was originally conceived as a center for the study of war-related issues and the contributions of the military establishment. It was to be an integral part of a proposed National Armed Forces Museum which would be a Smithsonian bureau. Although the proposed Museum and the Institute eventually became two distinct entities, their histories are linked by this common origin and by the later transfer of staff and records. An act of Congress in 1961 established the National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board (NAFMAB) to begin planning for the museum, the study center, and the acquisition of a suitable site.
• By 1973 prospects for building a National Armed Forces Museum had dimmed considerably, and the Smithsonian moved to establish the Eisenhower Institute in the National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT). Forrest C. Pogue was named Director of the Institute, under the broad supervision of the NMHT Director in cooperation with NAFMAB.
• The activities of the Institute included research, publications, lectures, and conferences concerning the contributions of the armed forces to American society and culture. Pogue was allowed to continue his research on General George C. Marshall.
• In its first full year of operation, 1975, the Eisenhower Institute reported to the Department of National and Military History, but in 1976 the Institute assumed separate status under the Director. In 1979 James S. Hutchins, past Director of NAFMAB, joined Pogue as Historian. In 1980 the name of the Museum changed to the National Museum of American History (NMAH).
• By 1984, Hutchins had moved to the Division of Armed Forces History, where he remained as Historian, 1984-1994 . Pogue retired at the end of 1984. The remainder of the staff members were reassigned; the Eisenhower Institute, never a priority of Smithsonian management, became inactive.
• For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.

Repository Loc.

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520

Date

• 1961
• 1961-1984

Topic

• Historians
• Historical museums
• Military
• Military history

Form/Genre

Mixed archival materials

Local number

SIA AH00139

Full Record

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