Paul H. Oehser - The Smithsonian Institution

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THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Westview Library of Federal Departments, Agencies, and Systems

Ernest S. Griffith and Hugh L. Elsbree, General Editors

The Smithsonian Institution, Second Edition, Paul H. Oehser; Louise Heskett, Research Associate; Foreword by S. Dillon Ripley

The Forest Service, Second Edition, Michael Frome, with a Foreword by Carl Reidel and an Afterword by R. Max Peterson

The Library of Congress , Second Edition, Charles A. Goodrum and Helen W. Dalrymple

The National Park Service , Second Edition, William C. Everhart, with a Foreword by Russell E. Dickenson

The Bureau of Indian Affairs , Theodore W. Taylor, with a Foreword by Phillip Martin

Available in hardcover and paperback.

SECOND EDITION

The Smithsonian Institution

Paul H. Oehser
Louise Heskett, Research Associate

Foreword by S. Dillon Ripley

First published 1983 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2019 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright 1983 by Paul H. Oehser

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Oehser, Paul Henry, 1904
The Smithsonian Institution.
(Westview library of federal departments, agencies, and systems)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Smithsonian Institution. I. Heskett, Louise. II. Title. III. Series.
Q11.S8039 1983 069'.09753 83-7026

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-29578-3 (hbk)

This Book Is Dedicated to the Memory of JAMES SMITHSON

"My name shall live," he said, "my name shall live
In the memory of man when vain titles
Are forgotten. But who am I to boast?
You ask me my name. Well, I will tell you...

"My father was the most high, puissant,
And noble prince Hugh Percy (born Hugh Smithson),
The Earl and first Duke of Northumberland,
Earl Percy, Baron Warkworth and Lovaine,
Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum
Of Middlesex and Northumberland Counties
And of all America, and a Lord
Of His Majesty's most Honorable
And Privy Council and Knight of the most
Noble Order of the Garter, et cetera
One of the handsomest men in all England.
And my mother? Elizabeth Keate Macie,
The heiress of the Hungerfords of Studley,
A widow, and descended from a King...
The best blood of England flows in my veins,
Yet this avails me not. But who am I?
I am James Lewis Macie, or James Smithson,
A commoner, born in France out of wedlock,
Master of Arts from Pembroke College, Oxford,
Fellow of the Royal Society.

"Yes, once I thrilled at the great name of Percy:
Like Sidney, two hundred years ago now,
' I never heard the ancient song of Percy
And Douglas that I found not my heart moved
More than with a trumpet.' Save for a marriage
I'd be a Percy too. I've felt it keen,
But think me not bitter about it now
That was long ago. Now I'm getting on:
I am sixty-one and must think of death;
I am lonely and ill; there's not much left
For metwo, or three, or four years, perhaps...

"No ignorance is without loss to man,
No error without evil, and therefore
I have loved truth and have dabbled in science;
That has been my pleasure, and it may be
(Who knows?) 1 have enlarged those lurid specks
In the vast field of darkness. But also
I have loved fame, that 'last infirmity
Of noble mind.' 'Fame is the spur,' said Milton.
Now by this earth's wealth which has come to me
I vow to make it true as I have dreamed:
The name of Smithson shall be linked with truth
And with the spread of knowledge through the world,
For ignorance has been my enemy
As it is all mankind's."

So having said,
With deliberate speech and firm countenance,
He took up his pen and began to write
These bare words:

"I, James Smithson, son to Hugh
And Elizabeth... this twenty-third day
Of October, year eighteen twenty-six,
Do make this my last will and testament...
And I bequeath ... to the United States
Of America all my property
To found at Washington an Institution ..."

So was his duty done, his dream reborn
"I shall not altogether die," he said;
"Smithson shall live when Percys are extinct,
Until the world at last shall know the truth
And be forever free."

Paul H. Oehser

Contents

, S. Dillon Ripley

1. vi
2. xv
3. xvi

Guide

Paul Oehser's important book on the Smithsonian Institution was originally published in 1970 and was based in part on an earlier volume, Sons of Science, he had written in 1949. Mr. Oehser has been a dedicated follower of matters Smithsonian since joining the editorial staff of the Institution in 1931, from which he retired in 1966. It is most welcome that he has rewritten and brought up to date this useful volume.

In the first edition I provided a foreword referring to the fact that these are indeed "excited times." Many extraordinary events have occurred in forwarding the mission of the Smithsonian Institution itself, helped by the great development of communications, of transportation, and, of course, the present and future massive evolution in the instant interplay of exchange of ideas coming both now and in the future with technology. Presumably in another ten years the Smithsonian Institution will be actively involved in transmission of information via satellites, TV extensions in the home, computer retrieval of information, and all the other technological wonders now developing around the United States.

This is a time of change, and it is meet and right that the Smithsonian should be in the forefront of change. Where these developments will lead us no one is likely to know; indeed, from whence the winds of change blow we cannot guess. However, the past few years of the Smithsonian's progress have gone well as a basis for our future, demonstrating our ability to keep up with change.

One of the encouraging aspects of this Institution has been its ability to focus on change, as I wrote in the foreword of the 1970 edition. In huge areas of science, history, and art, we possess and can capitalize upon the evidence of historical evolution. As history shows, change is the very measure of life itself; thus, we are surely charged by our own mandate and tradition to devote ourselves to basic research on interpreting these changes. Only in this way can we live up to the expectations of the public that the Institution will be a fount of information and of documented truth.

The measure of our success has been demonstrated clearly by the acceptance of our mission by the Congress, which provides approximately two-thirds of our annual funds, as well as by the public, who have made possible the growth of the Associates organization, supported our magazine, Smithsonian, and participated in the outreach activities in which we are so deeply involved. This public acceptance has resulted in the increase of annual private support for the Institution to approximately one-third of our budget. If it can be said that the Smithsonian is popular, as indeed we are, that popularity is produced by solid research, solid authentication of the statements on which we base our exhibits, our publications, and our delineation of the truth.

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