Description: In a 1991 issue of the Prophet, the Smithsonian African American Association’s newsletter, Claudine Kinard Brown called on staff to support Black museums across the country.
Description: Wonder Woman 1984 features fictional Smithsonian women in science trying to change the world. Let’s examine how real-life women pushed for change at the Smithsonian in the 1970s and created new opportunities for women at work.
Description: Happy National Trivia Day! January 4th is the perfect day to break out all those endless bits of knowledge stored in your noggin and share them with others. As for the history of National Trivia Day, it's thought that the creation of the game Trivial Pursuit in 1979 sparked the beginning of our fascination with trivia, and everythinge else is history, as they say. To feed our
Description: As a laborer at the Smithsonian from 1882 until his death in 1918, Harrison Lomax served the Institution’s top leaders. A letter in our collections that he wrote to Secretary Samuel P. Langley is an example of the ways in which African American employees advocated for themselves in order to earn promotions and raises.
Description: The 1846 legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution provided for a Secretary, appointed by the Board of Regents, who would run the day-to-day affairs of the Institution. When David Skorton became Secretary last year, he was the thirteenth person to take on that responsibility. In our last blog, we discussed the first six and now we’ll look at seven through
Description: Adela Gómez, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 1945-83, spent the majority of her years at the Smithsonian as a special administrative assistant to the director. In 1977, she was presented with the Smithsonian Institution Secretary’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service. #Groundbreaker
Description: In honor of Bald and Free Day, the Smithsonian Institution Archives presents bald or partially bald employees and visitors to the Smithsonian.