Today in Smithsonian History: May 13, 1878

Joseph Henry (Photo by Matthew Brady, date unknown.) Via Library of Congress

May 13, 1878 Joseph Henry (1797 – 1878) dies at 12:10 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

The first Smithsonian Secretary, Joseph Henry, served from 1846 to 1878. After rapidly deteriorating in the wake of a December 1877 paralytic attack, Henry died in his quarters in the Smithsonian Castle on May 13, 1878. Henry was a pioneer in the study of electromagnetism and its use in a variety of technologies, and was a tireless advocate for American science at home and abroad. For 32 years Henry focused his energies on establishing the Smithsonian as a great research center, despite the challenges of the Civil War. Today his efforts are marked with a statue outside of the Smithsonian Castle, the first building in the Institution he helped create.

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