2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 92 



was appointed Assistant Secretary in 1887. After Baird's death, he 

 was elected by the Board of Regents to be Secretary on November 18, 

 1887. He retained this position until his death, February 27, 1906. 

 During his tenure. Secretary Langley founded the Astrophysical Ob- 

 servatory, the National Zoological Park, the Regional Bureau for the 

 United States of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, 

 and the National Gallery of Art. He broke ground for the beautiful 

 Natural History Building of the National Museum. His strong inter- 

 est in children led him to set aside and beautify a special room for 

 them in the Smithsonian Building, where the choicest specimens in 

 zoology and geology were assembled to rouse their admiration and 

 wonder. Several bequests came to the endowment of the Institution, 

 notably the Hodgkins Fund for the study of atmospheric air. By 

 annual journeys to Europe, Langley kept the Institution prominently 

 before the eyes of Old World scientists and kept them informed at 

 first hand of his notable researches in astrophysics and aviation. 



Langley was a man of varied and discriminating tastes in art 

 and literature. As an author he showed great clarity of expression and 

 delightful rhythm and choice in words. He could never satisfy his 

 fastidious taste in composition, but continually altered and polished 

 his writings up to the very last stage. Only in bound form could they 

 elude his further alterations. Having a generous sense of humor, he 

 found a special pleasure in reading the works of George Borrow. The 

 novelist, William Dean Howells, was a valued friend, from whom he 

 even took lessons in composition, so much did Langley admire the 

 polished style of Howells' writing. 



Though unmarried, Langley was a great favorite with children. 

 I have seen him at the resort, Marshall Hall, swinging with two little 

 girls, one on either knee, Svhile he told them fairy stories. He was 

 afflicted by great shyness, and like some others thus handicapped, he 

 carried for the outer world a shell of hauteur, very unrepresentative 

 of the warm heart within. A man of great accomplishment himself, 

 he was often unfairly impatient with assistants, and would betray 

 irascibility by unduly raising his voice when things did not get on to 

 suit him. For these reasons many failed to understand the innate 

 kindliness of the man, so well known to those in closest association 

 with him. 



The older men of the Smithsonian Institution still remember many 

 incidents illustrative of Langley's character that would make delight- 

 ful reading if they could be written without loss of flavor. He often 

 told witty stories, or used bon mots to impress indelibly some point in 



