Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Square House, Man, Child, and Dog on Lawn, ca. 1855, by Unknown photographer, Daguerreotype with applied color (1/2 plate), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.234."][/caption] Often we are
Description: Exactly 165 years ago today, legislation establishing the Smithsonian Institution was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President James K. Polk. From today’s perspective, it seems like a “no-brainer” to accept a generous bequest from a little-known Englishman named James Smithson and create an institution in his name. But from the perspective of that era, the
Description: Today, James Smithson’s bequest to found the Smithsonian is considered a wonderful event, but in 1835 when it was announced, many Americans responded negatively. Why did they look his gift horse in the mouth?