The Smithsonian Institution, also known simply as the Smithsonian, is a trust instrumentality of the United States composed as a group of museums and research centers. It was founded on August 10, 1846, "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the "United States National Museum", but that name ceased to exist as an administrative entity in 1967. "I then bequeath the whole of my property...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..." - [James Smithson][1] (1765-1829) [1]: http://upstream.openlibrary.org/authors/OL2394098A/James_Smithson **Source**: [Smithsonian Institution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution) on Wikipedia.