Jul
07

July 7, 1791

James Smithson’s first scientific paper entitled, “An Account of Some Chemical Experiments on Tabasheer,” is read before the Royal Society of London and published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, volume LXXXI, part 2, p. 368. The paper details his many experiments on tabasheer, a substance found in bamboo. It is signed James Lewis Macie, the name he used until about 1800.

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Posted: 7 July 2010
About the Author:

Alex di Giovanni is primarily responsible for "other duties as assigned" in the Office of Communications and External Affairs. She has been with the Smithsonian since 2006 and plans to be interred in the Smithson crypt.