ABSTRACT
During the first three decades, the period of Joseph Henry's Secretaryship, the Smithsonian filled a pioneering role in American science in which Henry himself was a dominant figure. The accomplishments during this period were in large part projections of his own energies, talents, and convictions. One of the most important activities of the Institution in the 1950s and 1960s was the successful attempt, particularly under the leadership of former Secretary Carmichael, to obtain from Congress the authorization for new Smithsonian buildings and funds for their erection—notably the National Museum of American History, two new wings. For the National Museum of Natural History, and the renovated Old Patent Office Building which houses the National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery. The large-scale museum exhibits construction and renovation program, which began in the 1950s and is going on, has also been an outstanding achievement.
