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

On this episode of Our American Stories, James Smithson was never accepted by his father, the Duke of Northumberland. He never married, had no children, and spent his life studying minerals—but his parting gift to the world upon his death was to a country he never set foot in or even spoke about during his lifetime. Wyatt Hensley, a history education major at Pittsburgh University and a two-time winner of Constituting America’s We the Future contest, tells the remarkable story of the outcast who created America’s premier museum, which now bears his name.

We’d like to thank Constituting America for sharing this wonderful tale with us.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next, a
story from Wyatt Hensley Whyatt 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, DC. Today,
Wyatt shairs the unknown story of America's most important museum,

(00:32):
the Smithsonian Institute. Let's get into the story, and we'd
like to thank Constituting America for turning us onto this
wonderful tale. Take it away while.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Our story begins. In Paris, France, on June fifth, seventeen
sixty five, James Louis Macy was born. Now, the circumstances
around his birth are pretty interesting. He was the child
of Hugh Smithson, the victual first Duke of Northumberland, and

(01:02):
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

(01:23):
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 twenty seven scientific papers in his lifetime. Also,

(01:44):
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's stayton I.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
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, due this twenty third day of October one thousand,
eight hundred and twenty six. Make this my last will

(02:30):
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 a queath for his life, the whole
of the income arising from my property of every nature

(02:53):
in kind. Whatsoever, should the said Henry James Hunterford 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

(03:14):
bequeathed the whole of my property, subject to the annuity
of one hundred 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.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
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

(03:53):
States of America. He also never wrote nor told any
of his friends or colleagues about his planned 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

(04:19):
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 in fortune to the
country that famously rebelled against that society could be seen

(04:39):
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 twenty seventh, eighteen twenty nine,
at the age of sixty four in Genoa, Italy, leaving
his fortune to his nephew. However, just about six years later,

(05:03):
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 eighteen thirty six, the
US authorized the acceptance of Smithson's fortune, and President Andrew
Jackson sent a man by the name of Richard Rust

(05:23):
to negotiate the acceptance. Two years later, Rust returned with
about five hundred thousand dollars, which was equal to one
sixtieth of the entire US federal budget at the time,
or nearly seventeen million dollars today. Needless to say, that
is a huge chunk of change to leave a country,

(05:47):
especially when 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
ten years, Congress debated what to do with it. After

(06:08):
this long time, Congress eventually decided to establish the Smithsonian Institution,
named for James Smithson, and it was signed into law
on August tenth, eighteen forty six. For over one hundred
and seventy years, the Smithsonian Institution has done well on
its promise to increase knowledge and help educate its visitors. Today,

(06:31):
there are nineteen 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 eighteen
fifty five, and the newest, the National Museum of the
American Indian, which opened in two thousand and four. Today,

(06:51):
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

(07:13):
was assassinated, the command module of the Apollo eleven mission,
and many many more. In twenty twenty three, seventeen point
seven million people visited the Smithsonian Institution. This would undoubtedly
make James Smithson very proud. Speaking of James Smithson, he

(07:35):
was originally buried in Genoa, Italy, the place that he
had died. However, word got back that his original burial
spot was going to be moved. Learning this one of
the regnates of the Smithsonian Institution, a man by the
name of Alexander Graham Bell might have heard of him,
and his wife Mabel went to retrieve the remains of Smithson.

(07:56):
They brought it back in nineteen oh four and are
now an a special crypt in the Smithsonian Castle. Very
fitting that a man who had never visited the United
States before now lays 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.

Speaker 1 (08:22):
Had 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

(08:43):
more about their great work with students nationally, go to
Constituting America dot org. That's Constituting America dot org. And
what a story. James Smithen doesn't have any kids, doesn't
have any real heirs, leaves it to his nephew. That's
the air. The nephew soon dies and this man leaves
it's a small fortune to a country he well had

(09:03):
never visited. And endoties too. And what do you know?
Out from that comes the Smithsonian, our great national museum complex.
Visit DC, go go to all of them. The story
of James Smithson on our American Story