2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1962 



James Smithson, in leaving what was for his time a large estate to 

 the United States, directed in his will, written almost a century and 

 a half ago, that the institution that was always to bear his name 

 should be devoted to "the increase and diffusion of knowledge among 

 men." The basic legislation that created the Smithsonian was passed 

 by the Congress and signed by President James K. Polk 116 years 

 ago. One of the most important provisions of the act is the direction 

 that the Institution should be faithful in the execution of the trust of 

 James Smithson "according to the will of the liberal and enlightened 

 donor." 



The first Smithsonian Board of Regents wisely chose Joseph Henry, 

 then possibly the greatest student of expermiental science in America, 

 as the first Secretary of the Institution. The group of men who were 

 assembled and who worked in the then new Smithsonian Building 

 constituted the first research organization with a full-time staff of 

 investigators in a wide variety of scientific fields ever assembled on 

 this continent. Particularly during the Institution's fii'st half century, 

 under the effective administration of Henry and of his successor, 

 Spencer F. Baird, a staff of broad-gauge, distinguished scientists was 

 built up. Such names come to mind as George Brown Goode, Jolm 

 Wesley Powell, William Healey Dall, Robert Ridgway, Frank Hamil- 

 ton Gushing, W J McGee, William Henry Holmes, and Leonard 

 Stejneger — principally naturalists, ethnologists, and explorers who 

 brought distinction to the Smithsonian through the notable contribu- 

 tions to science that they made each in his field. 



Since Henry's and Baird's time there has been no deviation from 

 the policy of naming to the staff individuals who have won a recog- 

 nized place as leaders in the various fields of science and scholarship 

 that are dealt with at the Institution. The high title of "curator" 

 at the Smithsonian thus becomes the equivalent of a research 

 professorship in any great university. 



Last year the Smithsonian published 85 titles, making available 

 to the world the results of Smithsonian research. This brings the total 

 number of scholarly publications of the Smithsonian to at least 10,000 

 since its first scientific monograph appeared in 1848. Besides these 

 formal publications the staff of the Institution also answered over 

 325,000 specific requests for information during the period covered by 

 this report. 



One who knows the staff of the Institution in detail can go through 

 the names of those who work in its bureaus and laboratories with a 

 feeling of deep pride at the distinction of the men and women who 

 are spending their professional lives at the Smithsonian. 



In the Museum of Natural History, which is part of the United 

 States National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, there are 



