Description: C. Malcolm Watkins (1911-2001), curator of cultural history at the National Museum of American History, was a pioneer of material culture studies and historic archeology.
Description: Not only did the Smithsonian research in Washington, D.C., inform the course of World War II, the war also shaped the collections and research of the Smithsonian. Military medical staff sent thousands of specimens of disease carrying insects to the museum for identification. Soldiers stationed in far-flung locations provided the Smithsonian with collecting opportunities that