Description: A look at the relationship between Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley and the Wright Brothers during the sometimes contentious race to achieve flight.
Description: While only two years old, World Migratory Bird Day is just one of the latest evolutions in conservation awareness. Related celebrations go back more than twenty-six years and draw on over a century of research.
Description: Today is the first day of winter. Not ready for the cold weather? It could always be worse. Ornithologist (and future tropical biologist) Neal Griffith Smith once wrote in his journal:"Still pensil [sic]. Well, I've got time and temperature to write. Just sharpened the pensil with a snow knife. We are parked smack in the middle of Southampton [Island] in a bloody windstorm. It
Description: This is part two of three in a series of blog posts about a research project on treating fire-affected optical discs. This month, we’re focusing on cleaning tests.
Description: The 19th century was a transformative time for the natural sciences. New discoveries didn't just happen in an armchair. Scientists adventured into unfamiliar territory by land and sea on expeditions, and their new findings fed new theories. Groups like the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences formalized America's place
Description: Here is a look at some of the most interesting presentations Archives staff attended at this year's Society of American Archivists conference.
Description: We’ve learned so much about the specific women of James Smithson’s family though the Hungerford Deed—but what can it tell us about women’s rights in the eighteenth century?
Description: I cannot, I feel, have any regrets about my accomplishments. What comes from art will just come. I don’t feel any need to strive. - John N. Robinson One of my favorite parts of working in an archive is the opportunity to immerse myself in other people’s worlds, to learn more about their stories and experiences. One such person I encountered recently was John N. Robinson, a
Description: Dr. Margaret S. Collins became a renowned expert in multiple areas of termite zoololgy during her almost 50-year career as a scientist and professor.