The Stranger And The Statesman James Smithson John Quincy Adams And The Making Of Americas Greatest Museum

Download The Stranger And The Statesman James Smithson John Quincy Adams And The Making Of Americas Greatest Museum full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online free The Stranger And The Statesman James Smithson John Quincy Adams And The Making Of Americas Greatest Museum ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum

The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum
Author :
Publisher : New Word City
Total Pages : 278
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781612308494
ISBN-13 : 161230849X
Rating : 4/5 (49X Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum by : Nina Burleigh

Download or read book The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum written by Nina Burleigh and published by New Word City. This book was released on 2015-03-13 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In her illuminating and dramatic biography The Stranger and the Statesman, New York Times bestselling author Nina Burleigh reveals a little-known slice of history in the life and times of the man responsible for the creation of the United States' principal cultural institution, the Smithsonian. It was one of the nineteenth century's greatest philanthropic gifts - and one of its most puzzling mysteries. In 1829, a wealthy English naturalist named James Smithson left his library, mineral collection, and entire fortune to the "United States of America, to found... an establishment for the increase & diffusion of Knowledge among men" - even though he had never visited the United States or known any Americans. In this fascinating book, Burleigh pieces together the reclusive benefactor's life, beginning with his origins as the Paris-born illegitimate son of the first Duke of Northumberland and a wild adventuress who preserved for her son a fortune through gall and determination. The book follows Smithson through his university years and his passionate study of minerals across Europe during the chaos of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Detailed are his imprisonment - simply for being an Englishman in the wrong place - his experiences in the gambling dens of France, and his lonely and painstaking scientific pursuits. After Smithson's death, nineteenth-century American politicians were given the task of securing his half-million dollars - the equivalent today of $50 million - and then trying to determine how to increase and diffuse knowledge from the muddy, brawling new city of Washington. Burleigh discloses how Smithson's bequest was nearly lost due to fierce battles among many clashing Americans - Southern slavers, states' rights advocates, nation-builders, corrupt frontiersmen, and Anglophobes who argued over whether a gift from an Englishman should even be accepted. She also reveals the efforts of the unsung heroes, mainly former president John Quincy Adams, whose tireless efforts finally saw Smithson's curious notion realized in 1846, with a castle housing the United States' first and greatest cultural and scientific establishment.


The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum Related Books

The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum
Language: en
Pages: 278
Authors: Nina Burleigh
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-03-13 - Publisher: New Word City

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In her illuminating and dramatic biography The Stranger and the Statesman, New York Times bestselling author Nina Burleigh reveals a little-known slice of histo
The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams
Language: en
Pages: 542
Authors: Phyllis Lee Levin
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-01-06 - Publisher: Macmillan

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A compelling look at our sixth president, the first biography to look closely at JQ's international life and at his complicated and troubled marriage
John Quincy Adams
Language: en
Pages: 222
Authors: Paul E. Teed
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006 - Publisher: Nova Publishers

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

By the standards that historians usually use to judge presidents, John Quincy Adams was a failure. Although better qualified for the office than any American of
Lincoln: The Fire of Genius
Language: en
Pages: 345
Authors: David J. Kent
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-09-01 - Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Abraham Lincoln had a lifelong fascination with science and technology, a fascination that would help institutionalize science, win the Civil War, and propel th
John Quincy Adams
Language: en
Pages: 801
Authors: Randall Woods
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2024-06-25 - Publisher: Penguin

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A magisterial journey through the epic life and transformative times of John Quincy Adams In this masterful biography, historian Randall B. Woods peels back the