74 



NATURE 



[November 17, 1910 



THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHING- 

 TON AND ITS WORK. 

 QUESTIONS of the organisation, the objects, and 

 the activities of the Carnegie Institution of 

 Washington are of widespread interest. The demand, 

 indeed, for popular and technical information concern- 

 ing this institution is far greater than the available 

 supply. It should be stated, however, that it is not 

 practicable to explain in any brief compass the history 

 of the development of so novel an establishment. 

 There has been scant time thus far for those engaged 

 in this development to step aside and write anything 

 but an abstract of current events. It should be stated 

 also that the complexity of the subject is much greater 

 than might appear to casual observation. The insti- 

 tution has recently issued the eighth of its series of 

 year-books, or annual reports. These year-books con- 

 tain upwards of two thousand pages of condensed 



D. Walcott, Edward D. White, and Carroll D. 

 Wright. Articles of incorporation were duly approved 

 on the same date, and a board of trustees was there- 

 upon elected. These included the President of the 

 United States, the President of the Senate, the Speaker 

 of the House of Representatives, the secretary of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, and the President of the 

 National Academy of .Sciences as ex-officio members, 

 along with twentj'-tvvo other members. On January 

 29, 1902, the trustees of the proposed institution 

 assembled in the diplomatic room of the Department 

 of State, under the chairmanship of John Hay, and 

 received from Mr. Carnegie his recommendations for 

 the foundation of the proposed institution, his outline 

 of its general aims, and his deed of trust, by which he 

 transferred in perpetuity to the trustees as an endow- 

 ment fund 2,ooo,oooL worth of United States Steel 

 Corporation bonds. These bonds bear 5 per cent, in- 

 terest, payable semi-annually, so that the original 



Fig. I. — The Administration Building of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. 



history, and when one considers that they embody 

 what is probably the most complicated miscellany o( 

 contemporary literature, it may be seen to be no ea;- 

 matter, even if one had the time, to gain first-hand 

 knowledge by reading these books ; and it may also 

 be seen to be no easy matter even for one participating 

 in their publication to give a comprehensive summary 

 of their contents. Only the barest outline, therefore, 

 of this history can be given in the present article, 

 while some major and many minor considerations of 

 interest doubtless to individuals may be referred to 

 only casually or not at all. 



On January 4, 1902, a committee of incorporators 

 held a meeting in Washington, D.C., for the purpose 

 of considering articles of incorporation, looking to the 

 establishment of what was subsequently called the 

 Carnegie Institution. This committee consisted of 

 John S. Billings, Daniel C. Gilinan, John Hay, Charles 



NO. 2142, VOL. 85] 



income of the institution was ioo,oooi. In December. 

 1907, this endowment was increased by 400,000/., so 

 that the present income is i2o,oooZ. 

 , The institution was originally incorporated in 

 accordance with the provisions of the laws of the 

 District of Colombia, under the title Carnegie Institu- 

 tion. Subsequently, however, it was re-incorporated 

 by an Act of the Congress of the United States, 

 approved April 28, 1904, under the title of Carnegie 

 Institution of Washington, which is now its corporate 

 designation. 1 By this new Act of Incorporation, the 

 institution was placed under the control of a board 

 of twenty-four trustees, all of whom had been mem- 

 bers of the original board referred to above. This 



1 The reader's attent on mav be called lo the facis that_ the Carnegie 

 Institute, located at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; the Carnegie Foundation 

 for the Advancement of Teaching, with headquarters in New York City ; 

 and the Carnegie Institution of Washington are separate and independent 

 corporations. 



