Smithson's Gamble: The Smithsonian Institution in American Life, 1836-1906

by Tom D. Crouch

Overview

Discover the incredible history of the Smithsonian as it grew to meet the needs of a nation

Follow the fascinating growth and development of the world's largest museum and research complex during its first 60 years. The English chemist and mineralogist James Smithson never visited the United States, yet he bequeathed his estate to the country to establish the Smithsonian Institution. The rest is history, told in rich detail in Smithson's Gamble. This book reveals how, as it defined a role rooted in curiosity and exploration, the Smithsonian helped to shape the nation's developing identity.

The Smithsonian evolved from a small, narrowly focused organization into an institution leading the way in fields from astrophysics to zoology. Smithsonian researchers, and the hundreds of citizen scientists who they recruited, created a collection that documented the natural and human history of a continent. The American conservation movement and a national weather service are rooted at the Smithsonian. Smithson's Gamble is filled with fascinating characters, twists and turns, and moments of triumph and tragedy, complete with political machinations, a bit of backstabbing, accusations of murder, and the occasional scandal.

Tom D. Crouch, a Smithsonian veteran of almost 45 years, paints a robust picture of a unique American establishment and its lasting legacies. He chronicles the trials and errors of an increasingly complex institution and all the incredible joys and innovations resulting from Smithson's gamble.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781588347916
Publisher:	Smithsonian Institution Press
Publication date:	04/29/2025
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

TOM D. CROUCH is a curator emeritus of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. He has authored many books, including the award-winning The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright and Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A world-class museum deserves an exceptional biography. This book shows how influential individuals and complex social forces shaped an important cultural institution during a consequential era in American history. Anyone interested in the history of museums or US culture will find value in this important work.” —Samuel J. Redman, author of The Museum: A Short History of Crisis and Resilience and Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology

“An absorbing, occasionally surprising, and meticulously researched account of Smithsonian’s unlikely birth and early development. Tom Crouch expertly traces the twists and turns of the first three Secretaries as they struggled to define a future for the celebrated set of museums and research enterprises. Alongside Secretaries Henry, Baird, and Langley, the three principal protagonists, a cast of energetic, innovative, entrepreneurial, and often colorful scientists and explorers emerge to play their parts in 19th-century America’s explosive mix. The unfolding narrative reveals a blend of ambitions and prejudices that improbably advanced this complex, continually evolving, institutional empire. All told with a fine eye for the apt anecdote and fraught confrontation.” —Neil Harris, cultural historian and author of Capital Culture: J. Carter Brown, the National Gallery of Art, and the Reinvention of the Museum Experience

“The story of how a quiet little British chemist’s large bequest to the American nation with the lofty goal of increasing and diffusing knowledge among mankind is a fascinating piece of early American history. Here Smithsonian veteran Tom Crouch chronicles how a small group of men applied that money and, against many odds, created the first great American scientific institution.” —Nina Burleigh, author of The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum

“Smithson’s Gamble will now be the starting point for anyone wanting to learn about the history of the Smithsonian.” —Steven Turner, author of The Science of James Smithson: Discoveries from the Smithsonian Founder