Smithsonian Institution, Board of Regents, Minutes, 1847

Summary

• Present: George M. Dallas, William W. Seaton, William J. Hough, Robert Dale Owen, Alexander Dallas Bache, Henry W. Hilliard, George Evans, Richard Rush. Also Present: Joseph Henry. The members not present were Roger B. Taney, Lewis Cass, Sidney Breese, Joseph G. Totten, Gideon Hawley, Rufus Choate, and William C. Preston.
• Mr. Owen made a report on behalf of the sub-committee of the Committee on Buildings instructed to make a report in writing regarding the payment of premiums to architects John Notman and Mr. Rogers; the report stated that in following the authorization of the Building Committee by the board to visit various cities and architects in order to make a plan for the Institution's building, when it seemed doubtful that any architects would "spontaneously" submit plans, members of the committee wrote to John Notman, James Renwick, and Isaiah Rogers asking for their plans and promising remuneration of some sort to be wholly determined by the board. All other architects, the report went on, submitted plans voluntarily and were not promised any remuneration, given that their plans were not used or borrowed from. Thus, the report concludes, the three architects named "stand on different footing" than all others; Mr. Renwick's plan had already been chosen, so Mr. Notman and Mr. Rogers both deserve premiums of two hundred and fifty dollars.
• The board then resolved that the secretary notify Mr. Notman in response to his letter asking for remuneration, that as he submitted plans to the board upon its request and for renumeration to be determined solely by it, he would be paid a premium of two hundred and fifty dollars. The board then adjourned until the following Wednesday at 10:00 AM.

Subject

• Seaton, William Winston 1785-1866
• Bache, A. D (Alexander Dallas) 1806-1867
• Dallas, George Mifflin 1792-1864
• Hilliard, Henry W (Henry Washington) 1808-1892
• Hough, Walter 1859-1935
• Owen, Robert Dale 1801-1877
• Rush, Richard 1780-1859
• Evans, George 1797-1867
• Notman, John 1810-1865
• Rogers, Isaiah 1800-1869
• Henry, Joseph 1797-1878
• Cass, Lewis
• Totten, Joseph Gilbert 1788-1864
• Hawley, Gideon 1785-1870
• Breese, Sidney 1800-1878
• Taney, Roger Brooke 1777-1864
• Preston, William C. 1794-1860
• Choate, Rufus, 1799-1859
• Board of Regents
• Board of Regents Committee on Buildings
• Smithsonian Institution Building Early History
• Board of Regents Committee on Buildings Subcommittee regarding architects Notman and Rogers
• Board of Regents Special Committee

Category

Smithsonian Legal Documents

Legal document information

• 1847/02/20 Regents Minutes
• Board of Regents - Minutes of Meetings, 1846-

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 1, Board of Regents Vol. 1 (Bound volume)

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

• 1879
• February 20, 1847

Topic

Regents

Form/Genre

Board of Regents

Physical description

Number of pages: 2; Page numbers: 35-36

Full Record

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