SMITHSONIAN’S FIRST CURATOR
Baird was named the first curator of the National Museum at the Smithsonian in 1850. His impressive and voluminous writings helped secure his appointment as assistant to the first Smithsonian Secretary, Joseph Henry. Baird’s bibliography included more than a thousand titles, about ninety of which were formal scientific contributions. When he arrived at the Smithsonian in the fall of 1850, Baird brought with him two railroad box cars full of his personal collections. The new curator immediately focused on developing a world-class museum and soon set forth a museum program to Secretary Henry. Acknowledging Henry's stated policy of gathering only materials not previously collected by others, Baird proposed concentrating on collections illustrating the natural history of North America. He created a system of exchange using duplicate specimens and proposed to furnish travelers with the means of "determining the character of objects collected in various part of North America," thus creating an expansive network of collectors.BUILDING A NATIONAL MUSEUM
Baird also brought with him a dream, which he confided in July of 1853 to George Perkins Marsh, his mentor and a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents. Baird wrote, "I expect the accumulation of a mass of matter thus collected (which the Institution cannot or will not 'curate' efficiently) to have the effect of forcing our government into establishing a National Museum, of which (let me whisper it) I hope to be director. Still even if this argument don't weigh now; it will one of these days and I am content to wait." Although Henry opposed such a large museum collection, Baird used the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia as a chance to increase the Smithsonian’s collections and visibility. He oversaw the construction of award winning exhibits for the exposition. Further, at the exhibition’s close, Baird convinced other exhibitors to donate their specimens and collections to the Smithsonian. With such large collections, a new museum space was needed and, in 1879, the US Congress approved funding for the construction of the first US National Museum building (now the Arts and Industries Building).
SMITHSONIAN’S SECOND SECRETARY
BAIRD’S LEGACY
Further Exploration
- Spencer Fullerton Baird Chronology
- Spencer Fullerton Baird Bibliography
- Images of Spencer Fullerton Baird
Related Collections
- Spencer Fullerton Baird Records at the Smithsonian Institution Archives
- Additional Records About Spencer Fullerton Baird Across the Smithsonian
- Collections documenting the early history of the US National Museum
Other Resources
- Spencer F. Baird’s Vision for the U.S. National Museum, Smithsonian Institution Archives Online Exhibition
- Spencer Baird and Ichthyology at the Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History, Division of Fishes
- Tour the Smithsonian’s Museum in 1886, Smithsonian Institution Archives 150th Anniversary of the Smithsonian Online Exhibition
- Read about Baird’s Trusted Assistant, Solomon Brown
- National Museum of Natural History's Podcast about Spencer Baird