Description: Joseph Henry - First Smithsonian Secretary, 1846-1878"A new impulse will thus be given to investigation in every department of science; and learned men will know that through you they will be able to make their discoveries available to their brethren throughout the civilized world." —Letter from Francis Wayland to Secretary Joseph Henry, December 19, 1848 Perhaps the country's
Description: [view in Spanish][edan-image:id=siris_sic_13396,size=150,left]Much of the Smithsonian's early natural history collections came from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The fourth Annual Report (1850) discusses several Latin American expeditions, in particular the exploration of islands near Nicaragua by Ephraim G. Squier, who served as U.S. charge d'affaires
Description: A twentieth century Renaissance man, Louis R. Purnell lived a remarkable life. His career began in the skies above Italy and Germany, where he flew 88 combat missions as an original member of the Tuskegee Airmen. After the war, while working at the National Museum of Natural History, he traveled the world’s oceans collecting marine specimens, taught himself geology and