Today in Smithsonian History: December 18, 1984

Robert Harris (Photo by Richard Hoffmeister as featured in the Torch, February 1985)

December 18, 1984 Robert “Railroad” Harris, a security officer at the National Museum of American History, retires after 38 years at the Smithsonian. When he arrived at the Institution, the guard force consisted of 80 men who rotated between four buildings. Robert Riley Harris received his nickname of “Railroad” when another security officer learned his initials were R.R. and because he was frequently stationed by the transportation exhibits.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives

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