James Smithson
James Lewis Smithson (* 1765 in Paris as James Lewis Macie, † June 27, 1829 in Genoa ) was a British mineralogist and chemist. He was known for its legacy for the U.S., which was used to finance the Smithsonian Institution.
Life and work
He was the illegitimate son of Sir Hugh Smithson, later known as Sir Hugh Percy, Baronet, First Duke of Northumberland, KG and Elizabeth Hungerford Keate. Elizabeth Keate was a wealthy widow of the late James Macie and a cousin of the Duchess of Northumberland. His exact birth date is unknown because he came secretly, in Paris, where his mother had gone to hide her pregnancy. Therefore Smithson first bore the name of James Lewis Macie. His mother later married Mark Dickinson, with whom she had another son.
James Lewis Macie studied at Oxford University. For this configuration of the Duke of Northumberland came on. Among his fellow students were among the learned Blackstone, the eloquent Whitfield and the famous Dr. Samuel Johnson. During the semester break the Minerialen and ores collected. In Oxfold he received the impulse for scientific investigations. James graduated from Pembroke College on 26 May 1786. Under this name he was 14 years known. Already on April 26, 1787, less than 1 year after his graduation, he was appointed a "Fellow of the Royal Society of London".
Smithson was interested in almost everything and studied extensively the phenomena of nature, such as snake venom, the chemistry of volcanoes, the composition of tears and the fundamental nature of electricity. During his lifetime he published 27 articles, of an improved method to brew coffee up to the analysis of the mineral Clamine, which is used for the production of sheet metal. As a result, which was named the mineral smithsonite after him.
When his mother died in 1800, he inherited and his half-brother Henry Louis Dickinson a pretty big Anwesen.Henry struck a military career and served on the continent and in Asia and Africa. James, meanwhile, takes care of the property. The Duke died in 1786 and was succeeded by his son Hugh Smithson, James' half-brother, as 2nd Duke of Northhumberland. After his mother's death in 1801, he changed his name from " Macie " to " Smithson ". James Smithson was never married and had no children.
Cornerstone of the Smithsonian
Smithson died on June 27, 1829 in Genoa. In his will he left his fortune to his nephew, the son of his half-brother. However, he stipulated that in the event that this nephew without children - whether they are legitimate or not - would die, the money should go to the United States to establish " in Washington under the name of the Smithsonian means for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among the people ".
His nephew, Henry Hungerford Dickinson, later died without the necessary for the attack to the legacy of John Smithson heirs. 1836 Smithson bequest from the Congress of the United States was accepted. Litigation (in the UK ), in which the will was contested, a court ruled in 1838 in favor of the United States. The remaining sum of $ 515,000 was created by the U.S. Congress in government securities. There were many disagreements about how the legacy was to be fulfilled, and until 1846 the Smithsonian Institution was founded. In a law of Congress establishing the Smithsonian Institute was agreed and signed by President Polk on August 10, 1840.
James Smithson was never in the United States. The motive for this particular legacy is unknown.
Honors
- Smithson worked as a private scholar particularly zinc and lead minerals as well as dyes. According to him, the mineral smithsonite ( calamine, ZnCO3 ) is named.
- The lunar crater Smithson was named after him in 1976.
1904 brought the Regent of the Smithsonian, Alexander Graham Bell, the mortal remains of James Smithson to the United States, where they were interred in a crypt at the Information Center of the Smithsonian ( " The Castle "). All his papers and the vast mineral collection were destroyed by the fire of 1865.
Publications
- The scientific writings of James Smithson. Collected from the Royal Society of London. Edited by William J. Rhees. (1879 )
- The Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1896. The history of its first century helped. Edited by George B. Goode. Publisher: The City of Washington 1897