May 20, 1854

May 20, 1854 A special committee of the Board of Regents presents a report affirming the power of the Secretary, Joseph Henry, to employ assistants, but does not “require” him to employ assistants. The committee criticizes a suggested plan that would organize the Institution into several departments on the grounds that it would encourage rivalry, collision, hostility and impaired efficiency and usefulness. The report also supports repeal of the resolution of January 1847, requiring equal division of income between active operations and the museum and library, when the buildings are completed. J. Meacham, a member of the committee, submits a minority report dissenting from the conclusions of the committee report.

The image shows the Regents’ Room in the Smithsonian Institution Building. The engraving was originally published in the Guidebook of 1857.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives

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