Joseph Henry Visits Washington, D.C., for the First Time
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PrintJoseph Henry visits Washington, D.C., where he observes John Quincy Adams participate in a debate on the floor of the House of Representatives, and meets Senator John C. Calhoun and President-elect Martin Van Buren. Van Buren provides Henry with letters of introduction to U.S. diplomatic ministers in London and Paris, where Henry planned to travel the following spring. Calhoun would later oppose the United States' acceptance of James Smithson's bequest, which resulted in the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution. Joseph Henry would become the Smithsonian's first Secretary in 1846.
Chronology of Smithsonian History
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
December 27-28, 1836