Chronology 



147 



cion was divided into thematic groupings showing images of 

 evervday life, ethnographic photographs, the royal court, 

 Iranian anriquities. Western fantasy, religious architecture, 

 and women. 



November 23 



■ Gorilla birth Male gorilla, Kwame, born to the National 

 Zoo's Mandara, 17, and Kuja, 16. 



November 23 



■ Director steps down Michael H. Robinson, director, decides 

 to step down after 16 years at the helm of the National Zoo. 



November 28 



■ Panda dies The National Zoo's giant panda, Hsing- 

 Hsing, 28 years old, dies. He and his mate, Ling-Ling, had 

 been favorites with zoo visitors since their arrival in April 

 1972 



November 30 



■ Award The Archives of American Art successfully 

 matches the $500,000 Brown Challenge Grant, made by 

 The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston, Texas, resulting in 

 the establishment of a million-dollar endowment, The 

 William E. Woolfenden Fund, to underwrite Archives' pub- 

 lications in perpetuity. 



December 



■ Exhibition "The Smithsonian at the Turn of the Century," 

 an exhibirion on the Institution at the turn of the last cen- 

 tury, opened on the northeast balcony of the At ts and 

 Industries Building. 



December 



■ Food service agreement The Office of Contracting awarded 

 a contract to Guest Services, Inc., ro provide food services 

 for Smithsonian visitors and employees at the Southside 

 facilities. 



December 



■ Gift Betty and Lloyd Schermer of Iowa, long-rerm sup- 

 porters of the Smithsonian Institution, gave the National 

 Portrait Gallery a set of 19 Indian Peace Medals, covering 

 the period between 1793 and 1881. Peace Medals were im- 

 portant instruments in the federal governmenr's relarionship 

 with Native Americans. With engravings of presidential 

 portraits on one side, these rare medals were presented to 

 tribal leaders to secure treaties and other commitments. The 

 Schermer gift also includes a rare complete set of the History 

 of the Indian Tribes of North America, written by Thomas 

 McKenney and James Hall, one of the most authoritative ac- 

 counts ever published, as well as a number of framed prints. 



The three volumes contain 120 hand-colored lithographic 

 portraits, the most elaborate color-print book published in 

 the first half of the nineteenth century. 



December 



■ Libraries membership Bringing the nation's preeminenr col- 

 lection of cultural materials into the RLG community, the 

 Institution took a general membership. The Smithsonian 

 Libraries, the Archives of American Art, and the Freer-Sack- 

 ler Galleries had been special members. RLG was established 

 25 years ago, has been very active in digitizing collections, 

 providing resources, services, training, and information ac- 

 cess projects, including its database RLIN (Research Library 

 Information Network). 



December 



■ Notable anniversary First anniversary of the launch of the 

 Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite is celebrated, and 

 an issue of the Astrophy steal Journal Letters will be dedicated 

 solely to its achievements. The publication date of that issue 

 is August 20, 2000. 



December 



■ Outreach The Smithsonian American Art Museum worked 

 with the U.S. Census Bureau to produce posters celebrating 

 the country's diversity. Five posters in the series reproduce 

 art works from the museum's permanent collection. The 

 artists included were African American artists Romare Bear- 

 den and Jacob Lawrence, Latina artist Carmen Lomas Garza, 

 folk arrist J. C. Huntington, and a sculpture by American 

 Indian artist Allan Houser. 



December 



■ Staff appointment Susan Nichols, former Director of 

 Operations at the Atlanta Historical Society in Atlanta, 

 Georgia, was named Chief Financial Officer of the Freer 

 Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Her 

 responsibilities at the Atlanta Historical Society included 

 management of all financial operations, security, facilities, 

 the Museum Shop and cafe, special events, and visitor serv- 

 ices, as well as shared management of capital projects. She 

 holds a master's degree in professional accounting from the 

 University of Hartford. 



December 1 



■ Interview Oral history interviews of David Challinor, for- 

 mer Assistant Secretary for Science, were completed for rhe 

 Smithsonian Institution Archives Oral History Collection. 



December 1 



■ Public program The National Portrair Gallery presented a 

 lecture by Edward Sorel on his book Edward Sorel Never 



