Smithsonian Institution

Established by an Act of Congress in 1846 with the bequest of English scientist James Smithson, the Smithsonian Institution is a research center that holds some one hundred million artifacts and specimens in sixteen museums and galleries. The mission of the Institution includes public education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, sciences, and history. Artifacts held by the Smithsonian include the Wright Brothers' 1903 Flyer, the Hope Diamond (the world's largest deep blue diamond), the Star Spangled Banner, Judy Garland's Red Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, Harrison Ford's fedora and leather jacket from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Archie Bunker's chair and Fonzie's leather jacket from the television shows All in the Family and Happy Days, respectively. Duke Ellington's papers are housed in the Smithsonian and the Institution also owns the Folkways Records back catalog.

Museums and galleries of the Smithsonian include the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American Art, and the National Portrait Gallery, all of which are in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian-run Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian are in New York City. The Smithsonian is also responsible for the National Zoo and a number of scientific research institutes.

Many of the museums are located on the Mall in Washington and a visit to the Capitol seems to require an obligatory visit to at least one of these buildings. From April through October the various Washington locales of the Smithsonian are packed with visitors. One summer highlight is the Festival of Folklife, which explores the diversity of American and world cultures, that takes place on the Mall in late June and early July.

In 1970 the Institution launched its own magazine, Smithsonian, which carries general readership articles on the arts, the environment, sciences, and popular culture. The magazine has a readership approaching eight million. Another magazine, Air & Space/Smithsonian, was created as an extension of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. It examines the culture of aviation and space.

In 1995 the Smithsonian launched its home page (www.si.edu) on the World Wide Web and has since averaged over four million "hits" per month. The site has grown to contain a wealth of information on the various activities and collections of the Smithsonian.

In the 1990s the Smithsonian engendered considerable controversy with its exhibition, The West as America, at the National Museum of American Art and its proposed Enola Gay exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These exhibitions questioned received versions of history and the outrage generated broad public debates about history, culture, and the role of academics and museums.

The Smithsonian Institution is a repository of American cultural artifacts. The diversity of its collections and activities place it at the center of public understanding of American history and culture.

—Ian Gordon

Further Reading:

America's Smithsonian: Celebrating 150 Years. Washington, D.C.,Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996.

Conaway, John. The Smithsonian: 150 Years of Adventure, Discovery, and Wonder. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995.

"History and the Public: What Can We Handle? A Roundtable about History after the Enola Gay Controversy." Journal of American History. Vol. 82, No. 3, 1995, 1029-1144.