Joseph Henry Elected First Smithsonian Secretary
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Date: December 3, 1846
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Professor Joseph Henry (1797-1878) of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) receives seven out of twelve votes cast by the Smithsonian Board of Regents for the position as the first Secretary (the executive officer of the Smithsonian Institution), on December 3, 1846. The Board then unanimously passes a resolution approving the election of Henry, who went on to serve a 32-year term from 1846 until his death in 1878. The 49-year-old Henry is well known in the scientific world as a "natural philosopher" because of his basic discoveries in the field of electromagnetism.
Chronology of Smithsonian History
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
December 3, 1846