These included the study of plant life and the creation of a botanical garden on the Capitol Mall, an examination of the country's mineral production, improvement in the management and care of livestock, and the writing of a topographical and statistical history of the United States. The Institute proposed a number of undertakings.
Operating expenses were covered from the $5 yearly dues collected from each member. Honorary members included James Madison, James Monroe, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Other prominent members, who numbered from 30 to 70 during the Institute's existence, included John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Judge William Cranch, and James Hoban. Benjamin Latrobe, who was architect for the US Capitol after the War of 1812, and William Thornton, the architect who designed the Octagon House and Tudor Place, would serve as officers.
Officers were elected in October 1816, and the organization was granted a charter by Congress on Ap(this charter expired in 1838). In many ways, the origin of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to a group of Washington citizens who, being "impressed with the importance of forming an association for promoting useful knowledge," met on June 28, 1816, to establish the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences. " The Castle" (built, 1847) on the National Mall: the Institution's earliest building remains its headquarters As of 2021, the Institution's endowment had a total value of about $5.4 billion. Other funding comes from the Institution's endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, and earned retail, concession, and licensing revenue. Its annual budget is around $1.25 billion, with two-thirds coming from annual federal appropriations. The Institution's 30 million annual visitors are admitted without charge. Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines. More than 200 institutions and museums in 45 states, Puerto Rico, and Panama are Smithsonian Affiliates. Additional facilities are located in Maryland, New York, and Virginia. Ĭalled "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 154 million items, the Institution's 19 museums, 21 libraries, nine research centers, and zoo include historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in the District of Columbia. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. Government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". The Smithsonian Institution ( / s m ɪ θ ˈ s oʊ n i ə n/ smith- SOH-nee-ən), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian Smithsonian Institution (the United States) Show map of the United States