On 27 June 1829 James Smithson died, 186 years ago today. Why is this note worthy?
The Smithsonian Institution was established with funds from James Smithson (1765-1829), a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
From the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
The funds left by James Smithson amounted to more than $500,000, in 1838.
He apparently never visited the United States, and the exact reason he included this clause in his will is unknown.