James SmithsonDied 27 Jun 1829 (born 1765).English mineralogist, chemist and patron whose bequest of substantial funds in his will established the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Smithson was a chemist and minerologist who published 27 scientific papers. The mineral smithsonite (carbonate of zinc) was named for him. He died in Genoa, Italy, and was buried there. His inherited fortune was initially left to his nephew, who died unexpectedly just a few years later in 1835, without children. Under the terms of Smithson's will, the estate was then directed to the United States, where a charitable trust set up by Congress, founded what became the world's largest museum and research complex. In 1904, his remains were reinterred at the Smithsonian Institution. He had never visited America, and his reason for making his bequest there remain unknown.« |
