Description: Many of us read, write and send emails every day, but when did it all start at the Smithsonian? In 1980 Smithsonian staff had typewriters and telephones on their desk, with one or two FAX machines per office. The Smithsonian operated a single general purpose computer, the Honeywell mainframe, for all Smithsonian data processing applications and which did not include an email
Description: Sheryl Kolasinski, Director, Office of Planning and Project Management, 1995–2011, and Deputy Director, Office of Facilities Engineering and Operations, 2011–2012, managed major capital projects and helped maintain safety and security across the Smithsonian. #Groundbreaker
Description: Searching through the Smithsonian Institution Archives collections to find our who designed the star logo for the National Collection of Fine Arts.
Description: Roberta Wolff Rubinoff was a biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama between 1965 and 1979. In 1980, she was appointed the assistant director of the Office of Fellowships and Grants in Washington, D.C., and from 1986 to 2001, she served in the top role as director of the office.In Panama, Rubinoff served as the marine sciences coordinator and
Description: Gretchen Gayle Ellsworth was a Fellow and later Co-Director, Office of Academic Programs, 1968–78; Director, Office of Fellowships and Grants, 1978–84; Deputy Director, Directorate of International Activities, 1985–88; and Associate Director, National Zoological Park, 1988–93. Ellsworth was also instrumental in planning for better childcare at the Smithsonian. #Groundbreaker
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9668,size=200,left]The Art Room, a greatly scaled down successor to the Smithsonian’s original 1857 Gallery of Art, is located on the second floor of the Smithsonian Building (the Castle). It was designed in 1899 by the architectural firm Hornblower and Marshall to house the Smithsonian’s collection of prints and drawings. When the room was first
Description: Throughout the next months, the Smithsonian Institution Archives will feature posts related to the Smithsonian and the Civil War in honor of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. On July 21, 1861, the First Battle of Manassas raged just thirty miles southwest of Washington DC and the Smithsonian Institution Building that housed Secretary Joseph Henry and his family.
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.