Description: Why would an English chemist donate his fortune to the United States, a newly formed country he had never visited? We will likely never know exactly why in 1826 James Smithson chose to bequeath more than half a million dollars to create the Smithsonian Institution.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="326" caption="Taimi Toffer Anderson (1937- ), 1956, by Science Service, Black-and-white photograph, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Local number: SIA Acc. 90-105 (SIA2010-0105)."][/caption] The wealth of interesting stories in the Science Service collection never ceases to surprise