The Lost World of James Smithson Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian

by Ewing, Heather

• ISBN13: 9781596910294
• ISBN10: 1596910291
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-04-03
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

In 1836 the United States government received a strange and unprecedented gifta half-million dollar bequest to establish a foundation in Washington "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." The Smithsonian Institution, as it would be called, eventually grew into the largest museum and research complex in the world. Yet the man behind what became "America's attic," James Smithson, has remained a shadowy figure for more than 150 years. Drawing on unpublished diaries and letters from across Europe and the United States, historian Heather Ewing tells his compelling story in full. The illegitimate son of the Duke of Northumberland, Smithson was the youngest member of Britain's Royal Society and a talented chemist admired by the greatest scientists of his age. At the same time, however, he was also a suspected spy, an inveterate gambler, and a radical revolutionary during the turbulent years of the Napoleonic Wars. But at the heart of Smithson's story is his bequestworth $9 million in today in today's currencywhich sparked an international lawsuit and a decade-long congressional battle, featuring a dizzying cast of historical figures, including John Quincy Adams, and Alexander Graham Bell, both of whom grappled with howand even whetherto put Smithson's endowment to use. Fascinating and magisterial, Ewing's biography presents a sweeping portrait of a remarkable man at the center of the English Enlightenment and the creation of America's greatest museum. Heather Ewingis an architectural historian. She has worked for the Smithsonian and the Ringling Museum of Art. She lives in New York. In 1836, the United States government received a strange and unprecedented gifta half-million dollar bequest to establish a foundation in Washington "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." The Smithsonian Institution, as it would be called, eventually grew into the largest museum and research complex in the world. Yet the man behind what became "America's attic," James Smithson, has remained a shadowy figure for more than 150 years. Drawing on unpublished diaries and letters from across Europe and the United States, historian Heather Ewing tells his compelling story in full. The illegitimate son of the Duke of Northumberland, Smithson was the youngest member of Britain's Royal Society and a talented chemist admired by the greatest scientists of his age. At the same time, however, he was also a suspected spy, an inveterate gambler, and a radical revolutionary during the turbulent years of the Napoleonic Wars. But at the heart of Smithson's story is his bequestworth $9 million in today's currencywhich sparked an international lawsuit and a decade-long congressional battle, featuring a dizzying cast of historical figures, including John Quincy Adams and Alexander Graham Bell, both of whom grappled with howand even whetherto put Smithson's endowment to use. Fascinating and magisterial, Ewing's biography presents a sweeping portrait of a remarkable man at the center of the English Enlightenment and the creation of America's greatest museum. "The Smithsonian is known to most Americans, whether or not they have visited its main Castle or any of the attendant museums. However, Englishman James Smithson (born James Louis Macie), whose bequest created the Smithsonian, is an enigma. A disastrous fire at the Smithsonian in 1865 destroyed his on-site papers, manuscripts, diaries, equipment, and more. Seeking to build a picture of this man and discover what prompted his bequest to the Unite

Author Biography

Heather Ewing is an architectural historian. She has worked for the Smithsonian and the Ringling Museum of Art. She lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Maps: The Journey to Staffa	p. ix
The Grand Tour 1791-1797	p. x
Prologue 1865	p. 1
Descended from Kings	p. 19
Oxford: The Lure of Novelty, 1782-l784	p. 49
Staffa: The Cathedral of the Sea, 1784	p. 70
London: Science Like Fire, 1784-1788	p. 98
Science and Revolution, 1788-1791	p. 125
Grand Tour, 1791-1797	p. 151
London: Citizen of the World, 1797-1803	p. 193
The Hurricane of War, 1803-1807	p. 218
Vibrating between Existence and the Tomb, 1807-1810	p. 238
London: A New Race of Chemists, 1810-1814	p. 259
Paris: Private Vices, Publick Benefits, 1814-1825	p. 271
London: The Will, 1825-1829	p. 295
America: The Finger of Providence	p. 315
Epilogue 1832	p. 343
Genealogy Chart	p. 350
Notes	p. 354
Picture Credits	p. 413
Acknowledgments	p. 415
Index	p. 419
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