Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="229" caption="Mary Alice McWhinnie (1922-1980) was a professor of biology at DePaul University and a world-renowned authority on krill when she began working on research ships off-shore in 1962, when this photograph was taken, by Unidentified photographer, Black and white photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, cc. 90-105
Description: Mary Agnes Chase is known for her extensive contributions to the study of grasses, but who was Mary Agnes Chase? Why is her private life so shrouded in mystery, and how can we find out more.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="286" caption="James Burford, Anthony Pineau, and Raymond Watson, On September 19, 1981, an ex-clerk with Smithsonian Museum shops, armed with a .25 caliber automatic pistol attempted to steal more than $2,500 from the National Museum of Natural History’s shop but was stopped by this trio, November 1981, by Jeffrey Ploskonka, Black and
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The package containing the Hope Diamond is presented to Smithsonian Secretary Dr. Leonard Carmichael, The donor, Harry Winston, shipped the diamond through the regular United States Postal Service via first-class mail; the postage cost him $2.44, plus $142.85 for $1 million dollars worth of insurance, November 10, 1958,
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="408" caption="Fourth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1907-1927) Charles D. Walcott at camp in the field with four unidentified men, One man is sharpening an ax blade, The other three men are in the process of skinning some small animals, either beavers or woodchucks, Date unknown, some time in the 1910s or 1920s, by
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="A passenger pigeon Martha (named after Martha Washington), the last survivor of an American species that numbered in the millions prior to the 1880's, died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914, Her body was donated to the Smithsonian Institution and brought to the United States National Museum, now the National Museum of Natural
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="316" caption="The coffin containing the remains of James Smithson is being carried out of the Genoa, Italy cemetery where his body had been buried. Notified that the cemetery was to be destroyed, Smithsonian Regent Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel went to Italy to oversee the exhumation of Smithson's remains and their transfer
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Looking south from the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 11th Street, the silhouette of the Smithsonian Institution Building is seen in the distance, Above the first building to the right of 11th Street, the sign reads "Latimer & Cleary Auction and Commission Merchants", the next building has a sign "Star Buildings," and
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Untitled, by Thomas Smillie, c. 1890, Smithsonian Institution Archives."][/caption] One of the things people often want to know about photography at the Smithsonian is, “How many photographs do you have?” with the quick follow-up, “Have you counted all of them?” No one knows for certain, but statistical sampling suggests
Description: Marie Malaro, 1933-2018, entered law in 1957 when few women were admitted to the bar, and then taught generations of museum professionals how law and ethics applied to their work every day.