December 3, 1846
Professor Joseph Henry of Princeton University receives seven out of 12 votes cast by the Board of Regents for the position of Secretary (the executive officer of the Smithsonian Institution). The Board then unanimously passes a resolution approving the election of Henry, who went on to serve a 32-year term: 1846-1878. The 49-year-old Henry (born December 17, 1797) is well known in the scientific world as a “natural philosopher” because of his basic discoveries in the field of electromagnetism.
Posted: 3 December 2010
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