James Smithson

thumb|it is in his knowledge that man has found his greatness and his happiness, the high superiority which he holds over the other animals who inhabit the earth with him, and consequently no ignorance is probably without loss to him, no error without evil. James Smithson FRS (c. 1765 – 27 June 1829) was a British chemist and mineralogist. He published numerous scientific papers for the Royal Society during the early 1800s as well as defining calamine, which would eventually be renamed after him as "smithsonite". He was the founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution, which also bears his name. Quotes thumb|The particle and the planet are subject to the same laws and what is learned of one will be known of the other. There may be persons who, measuring the importance of the subject by the magnitude of the objects, will cast a supercilious look on this discussion; but the particle and the planet are subject to the same laws; and what is learned upon the one will be known of the other. "On some Compounds of Fluorine" (2 January 1804) in The Annals of Philosophy, vol. 7 (January to June, 1824) p. 105. Slightly altered in William J. Rhees, James Smithson and His Bequest (1880) p. 5: "learned of the one"; also in Webster Prentiss True, The Smithsonian Institution (1929) vol. 1, p. 217: "learned of one" Every man is a valuable member of society who, by his observations, researches, and experiments, procures knowledge for men...it is in his knowledge that man has found his greatness and his happiness, the high superiority which he holds over the other animals who inhabit the earth with him, and consequently no ignorance is probably without loss to him, no error without evil...the particle and the planet are subject to the same laws, and what is learned of one will be known of the other...I bequeath the whole of my property...to the United States of America to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. Various writings, including his will. Inscription, National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C. Reported in Suzy Platt (ed.) Respectfully Quoted (1989) p. 186, no. 972 External links Category:Chemists from the United Kingdom Category:University of Oxford alumni Category:Fellows of the Royal Society Category:1829 deaths