Existing comment:
1846
The US Congress passes an act to create "at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge."
1852
Solomon Brown becomes the Smithsonian's first African American employee. An advocate for African American rights, he remained with the Smithsonian for fifty-four years, in "every branch of work that is usual and unusual."
1881
The Arts + Industries Building opens as the first US National Museum. Many of its initial displays are objects donated from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Its first event – President James Garfield's inaugural ball – features a "Statue of America" holding an illuminated electric lightbulb, a brand-new invention at the time. |