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KF5JRV > TODAY 27.06.19 14:02l 6 Lines 2806 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 9368_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jun 27
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190627/1157Z 9368@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQK6.0.18
In Genoa, Italy, English scientist James Smithson dies after a longillness, leaving behind a will with a peculiar footnote. In the eventthat his only nephew died without any heirs, Smithson decreed that thewhole of his estate would go to “the United States of America, to foundat Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, anEstablishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.ö Smithson’scurious bequest to a country that he had never visited arousedsignificant attention on both sides of the Atlantic.Smithson had been a fellow of the venerable Royal Society of London fromthe age of 22, publishing numerous scientific papers on mineralcomposition, geology, and chemistry. In 1802, he overturned popularscientific opinion by proving that zinc carbonates were true carbonateminerals, and one type of zinc carbonate was later named smithsonite inhis honor.Six years after his death, his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, indeeddied without children, and on July 1, 1836, the U.S. Congress authorizedacceptance of Smithson’s gift. President Andrew Jackson sent diplomatRichard Rush to England to negotiate for transfer of the funds, and twoyears later Rush set sail for home with 11 boxes containing a total of104,960 gold sovereigns, eight shillings, and seven pence, as well asSmithson’s mineral collection, library, scientific notes, and personaleffects. After the gold was melted down, it amounted to a fortune worthwell over $500,000. After considering a series of recommendations,including the creation of a national university, a public library, or anastronomical observatory, Congress agreed that the bequest would supportthe creation of a museum, a library, and a program of research,publication, and collection in the sciences, arts, and history. OnAugust 10, 1846, the act establishing the Smithsonian Institution wassigned into law by President James K. Polk.Today, the Smithsonian is composed of 19 museums including the recentlyannounced National Museum of African American History and Culture, nineresearch centers throughout the United States and the world and thenational zoo. Besides the original Smithsonian Institution Building,popularly known as the “Castle,ö visitors to Washington, D.C., tour theNational Museum of Natural History, which houses the natural sciencecollections, the National Zoological Park, and the National PortraitGallery. The National Museum of American History houses the originalStar-Spangled Banner and other artifacts of U.S. history. The NationalAir and Space Museum has the distinction of being the most visitedmuseum in the world, exhibiting marvels of aviation and space historysuch as the Wright brothers’ plane and Freedom 7, the space capsule thattook the first American into space
73, Scott kf5jrv
KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
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