James Smithson facts
While investigating facts about James Smithsonian and James Smithson Society, I found out little known, but curios details like:
James Smithson sent the US $500,000 (1.5% the federal budget) in the 19C to found an institution "for the creation and diffusion of knowledge." The Smithsonian is today the world's largest museum complex; all are free of charge and open to the public, and James Smithson never visited the US.
how did james smithson make his money?
The founder of the Smithsonian, James Smithson, was a British scientist who willed his fortune to his nephew and in the event his nephew died with no heirs, to the US government to found an "Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men"; having never visited the US.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 11 of the best facts about James Smithson Biography and James Smithson Tomb I managed to collect.
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When his heir died childless, the estate of British scientist James Smithson passed to the U.S. government. American diplomat Richard Rush was sent to England to collect the money, and returned with today's equivalent of $11M in gold coins, which was used to found the Smithsonian Institution.
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As an illegitimate child of a English Duke, James Smithson, donated his entire wealth to found the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. despite never visiting the United States. In 1904, at Alexander Graham Bell request, his body was moved to the institute that he founded.
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The United States National Museum is called the "Smithsonian Institute" after founding donor James Smithson, a British scientist who never visited the United States.
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James Smithson, English scientist and founder of the Smithsonian Institution, never set foot in the United States.
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English scientist James Smithson bequeathed $500,000 to the US to found the Smithsonian Institution, equivalent to 1.5% the federal budget (~$66 billion today). It is the world's largest complex of museums in the world, free of charge to enter, and Smithson never visited America.
