Authorization to Prosecute Claim to Bequest

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Summary

United States Congress passes an act authorizing the President to appoint an agent to prosecute the claim of the United States to the legacy bequeathed by James Smithson (Stat., V, 64). The act establishes that any and all money received as a result of the legacy shall be applied to the purpose of founding and endowing at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.

Subject

  • Smithson, James 1765-1829
  • United States President
  • United States Congress

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. 28, 833
  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1879, p. 168-169
  • Rhees, William Jones. The Smithsonian Institution: Documents Relative to Its Origin and History: 1835-1899, Vol. 1, 1835-1887. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1901., p. 142-143

Contact information

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

Date

July 1, 1836

Topic

  • Smithson Bequest
  • Actions and defenses
  • Act to establish the "Smithsonian Institution," for the Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge Among Men
  • Major Events in Smithsonian History

Full Record

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