Secretary Spencer Fullerton Baird Dies

Close
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.
Print
 

Summary

Second Smithsonian Secretary Spencer F. Baird (1823-1887) dies at the age of sixty-four, at the headquarters of the United States Fish Commission at Wood's Hole, Massachusetts, on August 19, 1887. An ornithologist, Baird was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian in charge of the United States National Museum in 1850 and succeeded the first Secretary, Joseph Henry, in 1878. Assistant Secretary Samuel P. Langley had been serving as Acting Secretary since February 10, 1887, when Chancellor Morrison R. Waite appointed him, in consequence of the forced absence of Secretary Spencer F. Baird, by reason of sickness. Langley served as Acting Secretary until his election by the Board of Regents as Secretary on November 18, 1887.

Subject

  • Baird, Spencer Fullerton 1823-1887
  • Langley, S. P (Samuel Pierpont) 1834-1906
  • Waite, Morrison R (Morrison Remick) 1816-1888
  • Henry, Joseph 1797-1878
  • United States Fish Commission
  • Board of Regents

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • Goode, George Brown, ed. The Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1896, The History of Its First Half Century. Washington, D.C.: De Vinne Press, 1897, p. 840.
  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1888. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1890, p. 77-89.

Contact information

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

Date

August 19, 1887

Topic

  • Assistant Secretaries
  • Secretariats
  • Secretaries
  • Deaths
  • Acting Secretaries
  • Major Events in Smithsonian History

Full Record

View Full Record