8o The Smithsonian Institution 



Notwithstanding the fears so generally entertained fifty 

 years ago, the Institution has never, in any respect, fallen 

 under the influence of political interference. No member of 

 its staff has ever been appointed because of the influence of 

 powerful friends or for any reason except that he was believed 

 to be the best man available for the place. No sinecures have 

 been created, and no breath of suspicion has ever tarnished 

 the reputation of any officer or employee. 



Since this can be said in regard to the first fifty years of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, it may fairly be claimed as demon- 

 strated that the plan of organization was wisely and judi- 

 ciously conceived. 



Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 



Biographical Notices by William Jones Rhees 



ROBERT ADAMS, Jr. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



Regent on behalf of the House of Representatives, appointed December 20, 1895. 



Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1849. A. B., University 

 of Pennsylvania, 1869. Ph. B., Wharton School of Economy and Finance, 

 University of Pennsylvania, 1884. Admitted to the Bar. Member of United 

 States Geological Survey, i87i-'75. Member of Pennsylvania Senate, 1883- 

 '87. U. S. Minister to Brazil, 1889-90. Member of U. S. House of Repre- 

 sentatives from Pennsylvania, January 3, 1894- March 4, 1899. 



LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



Regent elected by Congress, February 21, 1863 ; reelected March 2, 1869. 



Bom in Motier, Canton Fribourg, Switzerland, May 28, 1807 ; died in Cam- 

 bridge, Massachusetts, December 14, 1873. Educated in College of Lausanne, 

 1823. Studied medicine in Zurich, 1824, also in Heidelberg and Munich. 

 M. D., Munich, 1829. Ph. D., Erlangen, 1830. LL. D., Edinburgh, 1834; 

 Dublin, 1835; and Harvard, 1848. Member of French Academy of Sciences, 

 1836. Professor of Natural History in College of Neuchatel, Switzerland, 1832. 

 Professor of Zoology and Geology in Lawrence Scientific School, Cambridge, 

 Massachusetts, 1848. Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Zoology in the 

 Medical College, Charleston, South Carolina, 1851-54. Curator of the Mu- 



