Description: Spencer Fullerton Baird - Smithsonian Secretary, 1878-1887 ". . . a National Museum, of which (let me whisper it) I hope to be director." -Letter from Spencer Fullerton Baird to George Perkins Marsh, Smithsonian Regent, July 2, 1853 Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), an avid naturalist and collector, served as an assistant to Secretary Joseph Henry from 1850 to 1878. This
Description: The National Museum of American History, known as the National Museum of History and Technology until 1980, was established in 1957 to house the growing US National Museum’s collections on the social, cultural, scientific, and technological history of the United States. The new museum opened in January of 1964.History of the National Museum of American HistoryAdditional
Description: In a world drowning in images, where we swipe past photos of friends, relatives, and selves in mere seconds, a set of remarkable portraits taken in the 1910s and 1920s by Julian Papin Scott (1877-1961) deserve more considered attention. Sometimes, his subjects appear immersed in work, surrounded by microscopes, beakers, or stacks of books, as if unaware of the photographer.