Spencer Fullerton Baird Portrait
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Creator: Unknown
Form/Genre: Photographic print
Date: 1840
Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives Record Unit 95 Box 2 Folder 5
Portrait of Spencer Baird, second Secretary (1878-1887) of the Smithsonian Institution, as a young man. Baird arrived in Washington in 1850 to become Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a post he held for 28 years. Upon the death of Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian (1847-1878), he became Secretary. The vigorous Pennsylvanian was to launch and assist dozens of expeditions to the American West. In addition to advice, training and instructions for making scientific observations and collections in the various disciplines of natural history, the Smithsonian provided the explorers with all manner of supplies, such as shipping containers, alcohol, arsenic (a preservative), and scientific instruments.
Baird, Spencer Fullerton 1823-1887
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Institution Archives Record Unit 95 Box 2 Folder 5
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
1840
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Photographic print
MAH64751
Color: Black and White; Size: 8w x 10h; Type of Image: Portrait; Medium: Photographic print