Henry's World Gallery
Joseph Henry (1797-1878) was a physicist from near Albany, New York, who taught at the Albany Academy and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and was named the first Secretary of the Smithsonian in 1846, serving until his death in 1878. While Smithsonian Secretary, he lived with his family in the east wing of the Smithsonian Institution Building or Castle.
Prior to becoming the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Henry (1797-1878) taught natural philosophy at the Albany Academy (the equivalent of high school) and the College of New Jersey (Princeton University). He was the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 1846 to 1878, c. 1900, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 12, Folder: 1, 96-4474.
Joseph Henry's home at Princeton, New Jersey, where he taught natural philosophy, or physics, at the College of New Jersey, today known as Princeton University. Joseph Henry (1797-1878) served from 1846 to 1878 as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1861, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 12, Folder: 6, SIA2012-2992 or 44308.
Joseph Henry conducts an experiment for his students, 1946, by Gifford Bell, mural, courtesy of Princeton University John C. Green School of Engineering. Henry taught natural philosophy at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, from 1832 to 1846. A physicist who conducted pioneering work in electromagnetism, Henry was known for his demonstration of experiments to supplement traditional lecturing.
A drawing of men and women strolling on the paths on the Mall in front of the Smithsonian Institution Building shortly after Joseph Henry became the first Smithsonian Secretary in 1846, c. 1849, by Unknown, drawing, courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 30, Folder: 4A, 76-4354.
The Smithsonian Institution Building seen from downtown Washington, D.C., from across the Mall, around 1855. In the foreground are construction materials along 15th Street, NW for the new wing added in 1855 to the Treasury Building. The Treasury building is the oldest departmental building in Washington, D.C.having been completed in 1842 and expanded three times by 1869. Residential and commercial buildings in the foreground are between 15th and 14th Streets, NW. This area was also known in the 1860s as the red light district called Murder Bay. The canal bordering the Mall before being converted to form Constitution Avenue is the sliver at right center. The white residence at the far left is at the corner of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, c. 1855, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 67, Folder: 2, and Box 30, Folder: 7, 2004-10647 and 18603.
Print of an engraving of the Apparatus Room of the Smithsonian Institution Building, or "Castle" with the electrical machines constructed by Dr. Robert Hare, a professor of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hare donated his collection of chemical and physical apparatus to the Institution in 1848. Men and women are talking and walking around. The engraving was published in the 1857 Smithsonian Guidebook, 1857, by by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 31A, Folder: 27, SIA2011-2394 or 43804-G.
From the west, the north facade of the Smithsonian Institution Building with paths on the Mall leading to the building. A man can be seen walking along the low fence near the West Wing. The photo post dates the January 24, 1865 fire and reconstruction. The roof of the lower North Tower was reconstructed with a flat roof instead of replicating the original peaked roof. The cost of the reconstruction of the building, exclusive of furniture and not including fitting up of rooms wanted for further extension of the Museum, is $136,000, c. 1867, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 30, Folder: 10, 29978 or 45934 or MAH-29978.
Interior view of the Smithsonian Institution Building, now known as the Castle, showing the Music Room, looking south, of the apartments of Secretary Joseph Henry (1846-1878) and family. In this photograph a piano is against the back wall to the right, a bust of George Washington is in the corner of the room and a sofa to the left, 1862, Titian Ramsay Peale, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 31A, Folder: 18, 3252 or MAH-X3252.
Interior of the Smithsonian Institution Building or Castle, of the apartments of the first Secretary of the Smithsonian, Joseph Henry (1846-1878) and family, c. 1862. The view is of the parlor, from the dining room. The music room is also visible, 1862, by Titian Ramsay Peale, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 31A, Folder: 18, 3253 or MAH-X3253.
The first Secretary of the Smithsonian, Joseph Henry (1846-1878) and family lived in the East Wing of the Smithsonian Institution Building. The Music Room of the Henry apartments is furnished with Rococo Revival and wicker furniture. The bust of George Washington can be seen on the far right, 1862, by Titian Ramsay Peale, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 31A, Folder: 18, 46638-C or MAH-46638C.
View of the Smithsonian Institution Building looking east up B Street (Independence Ave) towards the Capitol. Visible amidst the trees is the Magnetic Observatory, built in 1853. The grounds are landscaped following a plan laid out by Andrew Jackson Downing, 1863, by Brady & Company, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 67, Folder: 4, SIA2011-1448 or 32004 or 131133 or 2002-21691.
People are visible standing around watching the burning of the Smithsonian Institution Building, the "Castle," January 24, 1865, by Alexander Gardner, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 30, Folder: 9, 37082 or MAH-37082.
An engraving from Harper's Weekly of the burning of the Smithsonian Institution Building, January 24, 1865. In this view there are a number of men on horseback, 1865, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 30, Folder: 9, 2002-12222.
The Smithsonian Institution Building, the "Castle," after the fire of January 24, 1865. The roof on the Main Hall is missing. Within three days of the fire a temporary roof was installed over the Lower Main Hall to protect the collections. That roof remained in place until the spring of 1867 when it was replaced with an iron and slate roof designed by Adolf Cluss, 1865, by G. D. Wakeley, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 30, Folder: 10, 30792A or MAH-30792A.
A family stands beside a teepee which has been pitched along a roadway leading to the east door of the Smithsonian Institution Building. This was after the fire of 1865 and a number of the windows of the Smithsonian Institution Building's North Towers were bricked up after the fire, c. 1866, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 30, Folder: 11, 74-962.
Looking east of a newly decorated Lower Main Hall, or the Great Hall, of the Smithsonian Institution Building, visitors pose in the center. The second floor galleries are clearly visible. The delicate stencil work on the ceiling is by architect Adolf Cluss, who following the repair of water damage in the Lower Main Hall, used the opportunity to enhance the walls and ceiling, 1867, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 41, Folder: 15, 60144A or MAH-60144A.
Meeting of the National Academy of Sciences in the Mineral Hall, West Wing, Smithsonian Institution Building, "Castle," April 1874. Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian (1846-1878) is seated at the head of the room behind a small table. The rest of the participants are seated around the room. Several maps are arranged around Henry and there are mineralogy specimens visible in their exhibit cases against the walls of the room. There are a total of 48 people present at the meeting. Although Mary Henry is the only woman identified at the meeting, there are five other women present as well. Those identified are as follows: 1. Joseph Henry, presiding, 2. Mary Henry, 3. William Jones Rhees, 4. Frank Wigglesworth Clarke, 5. J. S. Newberry, 6. J. C. Dalton, 7. J. E. Hilgard, 8. J. J. Woodward, 9. Peter Parker, 10. Alfred M. Mayer, 11. William Ferrel, 12. Benjamin Silliman, 13. C. E. Dutton, 14. Emil Bessels, 15. Arnold Guyot, 16. J. H. C. Coffin, 17. B. A. Gould, 18. Elias Loomis, 19. C. A. Schott, 20. George Engelmann, 21. Benjamin Pierce, 22. Simon Newcomb, 23. Lewis Henry Morgan, 24. A. A. Michelson, 25. J. S. Billings, 26. S. Wier Mitchell, 27. F. M. Endlich. Simon Newcomb (#22) has a full beard and is the gentleman sitting directly in front of Benjamin Silliman (#12), April 1874, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 28, Folder: 22, MAH10844.
Studio of Mary Henry, daughter of Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian (1846-1878), in the East Range, of the Smithsonian Institution Building, Castle, c. 1878. The room is filled with paintings, sculptures, easels, a spinning wheel, chairs and tables, 1878, by Thomas W. Smillie, stereo view, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 31A, Folder: 18, 1237 or MAH-1237.
A second bedroom of the Henry apartments in the Smithsonian Institution Building, "Castle" was in the southwest corner of the East Wing. The first Secretary of the Smithsonian Joseph Henry (1846-1878) and his family lived in the Smithsonian Institution Building, c. 1878, by Thomas W. Smillie, stereo view, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 31A, Folder: 18, 1238 or MAH-1238.
The dedication ceremony of the Joseph Henry statue with a large number of people gathered around the statue on the Mall with the skyline of Washington, DC, in the background. The photograph was taken from one of the towers in the Smithsonian Institution Building, 1883, by Unknown, photographic print, courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 56, Folder: 3, 10733 or MAH-10733.