Description: Explore what happened in 1969 when a man brought a hatchet and butcher knife to Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to attack a display of snakes.
Description: The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) first opened to the public on March 17, 1910, as the new United States National Museum. The National Museum was first housed in what is now the Arts and Industries Building. The postcards in this gallery provide exterior views of the building as well as images of exhibits inside the museum. We know that many of these postcards are
Description: Spencer Fullerton Baird - Smithsonian Secretary, 1878-1887 ". . . a National Museum, of which (let me whisper it) I hope to be director." -Letter from Spencer Fullerton Baird to George Perkins Marsh, Smithsonian Regent, July 2, 1853 Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), an avid naturalist and collector, served as an assistant to Secretary Joseph Henry from 1850 to 1878. This