Why did he do it?

[Sinclair]

In 1829 English scientist James Smithson left his fortune to the
people of the United States to found an institution for the "increase
and diffusion of knowledge." Smithson's impetus in providing for a
research and educational institution in a new country on another
continent remains a mystery.

Here is one new fact that has emerged as a result of Mr Smithson gift

Neanderthals, who lived about 30,000 years ago, did not eat only meat
but they also ate vegetables and cooked the food, just like their
cousin, the modern man do, as the study found. According to previous
assumptions Neanderthals were mostly hunters and carnivores, which may
speed up their disappearance, while the first people, with which they
lived about 10,000 years ago, the survivors as they accepted other
ways of eating.

By studying the fossilised teeth of Neanderthals with Belgian and
Iraqi sites, scientists led by Dolores Piperno with the Department of
Anthropology, American Museum of the Smithsonian have discovered
traces of starch, which comes with numerous plants and traces of
different vegetables and roots. Much of this food has undergone a
physical modifications specific to cooking, which shows that the
Neanderthals knew to serve the fire, just as the first modern humans
did. 'These signs show us that Neanderthals were trying to improve the
food and increase its nutrient content, " estimate the researchers.

'All these data indicate that the Neanderthal was sufficiently
developed to prepare foods, regardless of whether the case is caught
animal or picked plants'. Anthropologists say that the big adjustment
in the purchase and preparation,

Source the Annals of the American Academy of Sciences (A Smithsonian
publication)

[AndyS]

On May 13, 2:34 am, Sinclair <aguarant...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> Neanderthals knew to serve the fire, just as the first modern humans
> did. 'These signs show us that Neanderthals were trying to improve the
> food and increase its nutrient content, " estimate the researchers.

>

Andy comments:
Yes..... the Neanderthal scientists were handicapped by lack
of access to the internet, where the nutrition guidelines were
widely available.

Being extremely intelligent, they all moved to England and
built Stonehenge in order to summon help from the gods......

........ looks like it didn't work that well.....

Just an opinion from Eureka, Texas

[Sinclair]

from the wikipaedia

James Smithson, FRS, M.A. (ca. 1765 – 27 June 1829) was a British
chemist and mineralogist. He was the founding donor of the Smithsonian
Institution.

Smithson was the illegitimate child of the 1st Duke of
Northumberland, and was born, James Lewis Macie, in secret in Paris.
Eventually he was naturalized in England and he attended college,
studying chemistry and mineralogy. At age twenty-two he changed his
name to James Smithson, his father's surname.[1] Smithson traveled
extensively throughout Europe publishing papers about his findings.
Considered an amateur in his field, Smithson maintained an inheritance
he acquired from his mother and other relatives. He was never married
and had no children, therefore, when he wrote his will he left his
estate to his nephew, or his nephew's family if his nephew died before
Smithson. If his nephew was to die without a family, Smithson would
donate his estate to the founding of an educational institution in
Washington, D.C., in the United States. His nephew died and was unable
to claim to be the recipient of his estate, therefore, Smithson became
the founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
He never visited the United States.
James Smithson was born about 1765 to Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of
Northumberland and Elizabeth Hungerford Keate Macie.[2] His mother was
the widow of James Macie, a wealthy man from Weston, Bath.[3] An
illegitimate child, Smithson was born in secret in Paris, making his
exact birth date a mystery. His birth name was James Lewis Macie, and
after the death of his parents he changed his last name to Smithson in
1801.[2][4] He was educated and eventually naturalized in England.[3]
In 1766, his mother inherited Hungerfords of Studley, where her
brother had lived up until his death.[5] Smithson enrolled at Pembroke
College, Oxford in 1782 and graduated in 1786 with his Masters of Arts.
[6][7]

Smithson was nomadic in his lifestyle, travelling throughout Europe.
[2] As a student, in 1784, he participated in a geological expedition
with Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond, William Thornton and Paolo
Andreani of Scotland and the Hebrides.[8] He was in Paris during the
French Revolution.[2] In August 1807 Smithson would become a prisoner
of war while in Tönning during the Napoleonic Wars. He would transfer
to Hamburg and then held by the French. The following year, Smithson
wrote Sir Joseph Banks and asked him to use his influence to help free
Smithson. Banks succeeded and Smithson returned to England.[9] He
never married or had children.[2] Smithson's wealth stemmed from the
splitting of his mothers estate with his half-brother, Col. Henry
Louis Dickinson
James Smithson died in Genoa, Italy on June 27, 1829.[2][14] He was
buried in Sampierdarena in a Protestant cemetery.[14] In his will,
Smithson left his fortune to his nephew, Henry James Hungerford.[5] In
the will, which was written in 1826, Smithson stated that Hungerford
or Hungerford's children, would receive his inheritance, and if
Hungerford did not live, and had no children to receive the fortune,
he would donate it to the United States to have an educational
institution called the Smithsonian Institution founded.[15] Hungerford
died on June 5, 1835, unmarried and leaving behind no children, and
the United States was the recipient.[15][16] In his will Smithson
stated, what would be formed into the Smithsonian mission:


"I then 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 & diffusion of
knowledge among men."[15]
It was not until 1835 that the United States government is informed
about the bequest. Aaron Vail wrote Secretary of State John Forsyth.
[17] This information was then passed onto President Andrew Jackson
who then informed Congress. A committee would be organized and the
Smithsonian Institution would be founded.[18] Smithson's estate was
sent to the United States, accompanied by Richard Rush. The estate
arrived as gold sovereigns in eleven boxes.[19][20] Smithson's
personal items, scientific notes, minerals, and library also traveled
with Rush.[19] The gold was transferred to the treasury in
Philadelphia and was reminted into $508,318.46.[20] The final funds
from Smithson were received in 1864 from Marie de la Batut, Smithson's
newphew's mother. This final amount totaled $54,165.38.[21]

On February 24, 1847, the Board of Regents, who would oversee the
creation of the Smithsonian, approved the seal for the institution.
The seal, based on an engraving by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, was
manufactured by Edward Stabler and designed by Robert Dale Owen.[22]
Smithson's papers and collection of minerals were destroyed in a fire
in 1865, however, his collection of 213 books remain intact at the
Smithsonian.[2][23][24] The Board of Regents acquired a portrait of
Smithson, which shows Smithson dressed in Oxford University student
attire. The painting, by James Roberts, is now on display in the crypt
at the Smithsonian Castle.[25] An additional portrait, a miniature,
and the original draft of Smithson's will were acquired in 1877, which
now reside in the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian
Institution Archives, respectfully.[26] Additional items were acquired
from Smithson's relatives in 1878.[27]
Smithson was buried just outside of Genoa, Italy. The United States
consul in Genoa was asked to maintain the grave site, with sponsorship
for its maintenance coming from the Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley visited the site, contributing
further money to maintain it and requested a plaque be designed for
the grave site. Three plaques were created by William Ordway
Partridge. One was placed at the grave site, a second at a Protestant
chapel in Genoa, and the last was gifted to Pembroke College, Oxford.
Only one of the plaques exists today. The plaque at the grave site was
stolen and then replaced with a marble version. During World War II,
the Protestant chapel was destroyed and the plaque was looted. A copy
was eventually placed at the site in 1963.[23] The grave site itself
was going to be relocated in 1905, and in response, Alexander Graham
Bell, who was a regent for the Smithsonian, requested that Smithson's
remains be moved to the Smithsonian Institution Building. In 1903,
Bell and his wife, Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, traveled to Genoa to exhume
the body. The body set sail from Genoa on January 7, 1904 and arrived
on January 20. On January 25, a ceremony was held and the body was
escorted through Washington, D.C. by the United States Cavalry.[28]
When handing over the remains to the Smithsonian, Bell stated:


"And now... my mission is ended and I deliver into your hands ... the
remains of this great benefactor of the United States.”[28]

The coffin then lay in state in the Board of Regents' room, where
objects from Smithson's personal collection were on display.[28]
Smithson's remains at the Smithsonian Institution Castle
After the arrival of Smithson's remains, the Board of Regents asked
Congress to fund a memorial. Artists and architects were solicited to
create proposals for the monument. Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Louis Saint-
Gaudens, Gutzon Borglum, Totten & Rogers, Henry Bacon, and Hornblower
& Marshall were some of the many artists and architectural firms who
submitted proposals. The proposals varied in design, from elaborate
monumental tombs that, if built, would be bigger than the Lincoln
Memorial, to smaller monuments that would be located just outside the
Smithsonian Castle. Congress decided not to fund the memorial. To
accommodate the fact that the Smithsonian would have to fund the
memorial, they chose to take the design of Gutzon Borglum, which
suggested a remodel of the south tower room of the Smithsonian Castle
to house the memorial surrounded by four Corinthian columns and a
vaulted ceiling. Instead of the tower room, a smaller room at the
north entrance, which was a children's museum, would house an Italian-
style sarcophagus.[29]