The Disowned British Noble Who Founded the Smithsonian—After His Death

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Speaker 1: And we return to our American stories. Up next, a story from Wyatt Hensley. Wyatt is a current student at Pittsburgh State University and a two-time winner of Constituting America’s “We the Future” contest. He’s also the group’s stand-in tour guide for their trips to Washington, D.C. Today, Wyatt shares the unknown story of America’s most important museum, the Smithsonian Institution. Let’s get into the story, and we’d like to thank Constituting America for turning us onto this wonderful tale. Take it away, Wyatt.

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Speaker 2: Our story begins. In Paris, France, on June 5th, 1765, James Louis Macy was born. Now, the circumstances around his birth are pretty interesting. He was the child of Hugh Smithson, the virtual first Duke of Northumberland, and was a very prominent figure of English nobility at the time. His mother, Elizabeth Hungerford Macy, actually moved to Paris in order to give birth in secret upon discovering her pregnancy. Now, James eventually did change his last name to Smithson following his mother’s death, in order to help link him to his estranged father and gain more recognition in high-class British society. However, he was never acknowledged publicly by his father. James went on to become a famous British chemist and a neurologist, writing 27 scientific papers in his lifetime. Also, he became a fellow at the Royal Society of London. Not too shabby. During his lifetime, he never married nor had any children, so when it came time to write his final will and testament, he declared that his nephew would be his heir to his fortune. However, his will also included an interesting clause. It stated, “I,

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Speaker 3: James Smithson, son to Hugh, first Duke of Northumberland, and Elizabeth Harris of the Hungerfords of Sudley, and niece to Charles, the Proud Duke of Somerset, now residing in Benick Street, Cavendish Square, do this 23rd day of October 1826, make this my last will and testament. I bequeathed the whole of my property, of every nature, in kind soever, to be disposed of in the following manner: To Henry James Hungerford, my nephew, heretofore called Henry James Dickinson, now residing at Borg, Lavraine, near Paris. I give him and bequeath for his life the whole of the income arising from my property of every nature in kind. Whatsoever, should the said Henry James Hungerford have a child or children, legitimate or illegitimate, I leave to such child or children, after the death of his or her or their father, the whole of my property of every kind, absolutely and forever. In the case of the death of my nephew, without leaving a child, I then bequeathed the whole of my property, subject to the annuity of 100 pounds, to John Fittall, my former servant, and for the security and payment of which I mean stock to remain in this country, to the United States of America,

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Speaker 2: to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” While this was a very generous and noble idea, it was very odd, to say the least. Though Smithson was well-traveled in Europe, he never stepped foot in the United States of America. He also never wrote nor told any of his friends or colleagues about his plan to do this. So why would he even consider donating a lot of money to a country he had never visited before, especially as a prominent and famous British chemist? There are a few possible explanations. It is possible that he admired the American experiment and that he did this out of his love for science and philanthropy. Another theory suggests that he tended to feel like an outcast from this high-class British society, so leaving his money and fortune to the country that famously rebelled against that society could be seen as some nice revenge. However, this is all speculation, and we really don’t know the true reason. In any case, James Smithson passed away on June 27th, 1829, at the age of 64 in Genoa, Italy, leaving his fortune to his nephew. However, just about six years later, his nephew passed away, unmarried and without an heir, just like his uncle. This meant that this money would be going to the United States. In 1836, the U.S. authorized the acceptance of Smithson’s fortune, and President Andrew Jackson sent a man by the name of Richard Rust to negotiate the acceptance. Two years later, Rust returned with about $500,000, which was equal to one-sixtieth of the entire U.S. federal budget at the time, or nearly $17 million today. Needless to say, that is a huge chunk of change to leave a country, especially one that you never visited and had no ties to. In any case, even though James Smithson left some instruction on what to do with the money, and the United States did authorize the acceptance of it, for the next 10 years, Congress debated what to do with it. After this long time, Congress eventually decided to establish the Smithsonian Institution, named for James Smithson, and it was signed into law on August 10th, 1846. For over 170 years, the Smithsonian Institution has done well on its promise to increase knowledge and help educate its visitors. Today, there are 19 museums and galleries, nine research centers, as well as a zoo. The oldest of the Smithsonian Institution is the Smithsonian Castle, which opened its doors in 1855, and the newest, the National Museum of the American Indian, which opened in 2004. Today, the Smithsonian Institution houses priceless artifacts not only from our nation’s history, but from around the world, including the flag that inspired the Star-Spangled Banner, the Hope Diamond, Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the classic “Wizard of Oz,” the top hat that President Abraham Lincoln wore the night that he was assassinated, the command module of the Apollo 11 mission, and many, many more. In 2023, 17.7 million people visited the Smithsonian Institution. This would undoubtedly make James Smithson very proud. Speaking of James Smithson, he was originally buried in Genoa, Italy, the place where he had died. However, word got back that his original burial spot was going to be moved. Learning this, one of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, a man by the name of Alexander Graham Bell (you might have heard of him), and his wife Mabel went to retrieve the remains of Smithson. They brought it back in 1904 and are now in a special crypt in the Smithsonian Castle. Very fitting that a man who had never visited the United States before now lies to rest in the oldest museum in the now world’s largest museum complex that he all helped found. Truly a wonderful ending to this incredible story.

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Speaker 1: That’s a terrific job on the production, editing, and sound designed by our own Monty Montgomery. And a special thanks to Wyatt Hensley. He’s a student at Pittsburgh State University and two-time winner of Constituting America’s “We the Future” contest. We also want to give a special shout-out to Constituting America for sending us this story. To find out more about their great work with students nationally, go to ConstitutingAmerica.org. That’s ConstitutingAmerica.org. And what a story! James Smithson doesn’t have any kids, doesn’t have any real heirs, leaves it to his nephew. That’s the heir. The nephew soon dies, and this man leaves, it’s a small fortune, to a country he, well, had never visited. And no ties too. And what do you know? Out from that comes the Smithsonian, our great national museum complex. Visit D.C., go, go to all of them. The story of James Smithson on our American Stories.