Description: Barry Hampton played an important role in Division of Reptiles and Amphibians in the Natural History Museum for decades, but recognition was slow to come.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="301" caption="Doris Mable Cochran (1898-1968), herpetologist in the Division of Reptiles and Amphibians of the United States National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History). Cochran was appointed an aid to Leonhard Stejneger in 1919, Assistant Curator in 1927, Associate Curator in 1942, and Curator in 1956. She retired in
Description: A brief narrative on Jean Louis Berlandier, a French naturalist, and one of the first scientists to observe, collect , and document the natural history specimens of southeastern Texas and northeastern Mexico.
Description: Explore what happened in 1969 when a man brought a hatchet and butcher knife to Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to attack a display of snakes.
Description: [view:sia_slideshow==75408]Scientific research has been integral to the Smithsonian, from its founding to today. The Smithsonian's founder, Englishman James Smithson, saw in the U.S. (according to his biographer, Heather Ewing) "a place of the future" that could support "science and progress for humanity." He believed that scientists were "citizens of the world" and that the
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_12123,size=250,left]It is a simple answer really: We counted. From 1978 to 1983, the Smithsonian undertook a comprehensive inventory of its collections. It was the first time the Smithsonian had ever tried to count each object in its collections and it was a massive task. Over five years, staff from every museum and research center spent thousands of
Description: The Smithsonian Institution Archives continually strives to add more collection information to its website. This is a periodic post highlighting new acquisitions and individual collection items.