He published numerous scientific papers for the Royal Society during the early 1800s as well as defining calamine, which would eventually be renamed after him as "smithsonite".

If his nephew were to die without heirs, however, Smithson's will stipulated that his estate be used "to found in Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men".

James Smithson was born in c. 1765 to Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland and Elizabeth Hungerford Keate Macie.

[2] As a student, in 1784, he participated in a geological expedition with Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond, William Thornton and Paolo Andreani to Scotland and especially the Hebrides.

[12] His controversial legal step-father John Marshe Dickinson (aka Dickenson) of Dunstable died in 1771.

[13] Smithson's wealth stemmed from the splitting of his mother's estate with his half-brother, Col. Henry Louis Dickenson.

[14] Tabasheer is a substance used in traditional Indian medicine and derived from material collected inside bamboo culms.

It was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London and was the documented instance of his new name, James Smithson.

[18] In his will written in 1826, Smithson left his fortune to the son of his brother – that is, his nephew, Henry James Dickenson.

In the will Smithson stated that Henry James Hungerford, or Hungerford's children, would receive his inheritance, and that if his nephew did not live, and had no children to receive the fortune, it would be donated to the United States to establish an educational institution to be called the Smithsonian Institution.

[19] Henry Hungerford died on 5 June 1835, unmarried and leaving behind no children, and the United States was the recipient.

to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.

[22] In 1836 President Jackson sent Richard Rush, former Treasury Secretary, to England as Commissioner to proceed in Chancery Court to secure the funds.

In 1838 he was successful and returned, accompanied by 104,960 gold sovereigns (in eleven crates) and Smithson's personal items, scientific notes, minerals, and library.

The seal, based on an engraving by Pierre Joseph Tiolier, was manufactured by Edward Stabler and designed by Robert Dale Owen.

[2][27][28] The Board of Regents acquired a portrait of Smithson dressed in Oxford University student attire, painted by James Roberts, that is now on display in the crypt at the Smithsonian Castle.

[31] The circumstances of his birth seem to have created in him a desire for posthumous fame, although he had established quite a reputation in the scientific community and lived proud of his descent.

The United States consul in Genoa was asked to maintain the grave site, with sponsorship for its maintenance coming from the Smithsonian Institution.

[34] When handing over the remains to the Smithsonian, Bell stated: "And now... my mission is ended and I deliver into your hands ... the remains of this great benefactor of the United States.” The coffin then lay in state in the Board of Regents' room, where objects from Smithson's personal collection were on display.

This chapel was to serve as a temporary space for Smithson's remains until Congress approved a larger memorial.