Aug

Today in Smithsonian History: August 6, 1897

Cyrus Adler sits with his hands, a little further apart, in his lap. Adler was the honorary assistant curator for the Department of Semitics at the United States National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., from 1888 until 1893. At the Smithsonian, Adler also served as curator of Historic Archaeology and Historic Religions from 1889 to 1898, librarian from 1892 to 1905, and assistant secretary from 1905 to 1908

Cyrus Adler, c. 1890. Adler was the honorary assistant curator for the Department of Semitics at the United States National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., from 1888 until 1893. At the Smithsonian, Adler also served as curator of Historic Archaeology and Historic Religions from 1889 to 1898, librarian from 1892 to 1905, and assistant secretary from 1905 to 1908. (Photographer unknown)

August 6, 1897 Cyrus B. Adler, Librarian of the Smithsonian Institution, publishes The International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, which presents background information, including pertinent correspondence, to trace the evolution of the first international catalogue of scientific literature ever produced. He begins by commenting that the International Bibliographical Conference, held in London, England, during July 14-17, 1896, was the most important step ever taken toward international cooperation in scientific and bibliographical work.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives