England, George A.; Sloan, John [Illustrator]:The Air Trust
- exemplaire signée 2016, ISBN: 9780548395578
Livres de poche, Edition reliée
New York: Henry Schuman, 1949. Presumed first edition/first printing. Hardcover. Good/fair. xvii, [3], 220, [6] pages. Signed by author on title page. Illustrations. Chronology of Pr… Plus…
New York: Henry Schuman, 1949. Presumed first edition/first printing. Hardcover. Good/fair. xvii, [3], 220, [6] pages. Signed by author on title page. Illustrations. Chronology of Principal Events in Smithsonian History. Selected Bibliography. Index. DJ has some wear, soiling, tears and chips. Minor pencil erasure on fep. Paul Henry Oehser (27 March 1904, Cherry Creek, New York - 4 December 1996, Boone, North Carolina) was an author of three books and an editor of scientific publications. Oehser graduated in 1925 from Greenville College in Illinois. Soon after graduation he moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the Bureau of Biological Survey as an assistant scientific editor. Beginning in 1931 he was an editor working for the Smithsonian Institution and in 1950 became director of the Institution's Editorial and Publications Division. From 1951 to 1966 he continued as director but also served as the Smithsonian Institution's public relations officer. He retired from the Institution in 1966 and then worked from 1966 to 1975 for the National Geographic Society as an editor of scientific reports. He was on the Wilderness Society's Governing Council. At various times he was secretary, bulletin editor, and president of the Cosmos Club. He was president of the Washington Biologists' Field Club from 1964 to 1967. The Smithsonian Institution, established in 1846 "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge," is a group of museums and research centers administered by the Government of the United States. Originally organized as the "United States National Museum," that name ceased to exist as an administrative entity in 1967. Termed "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 138 million items, the Institution's nineteen museums, nine research centers, and zoo include historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in the District of Columbia. A further 170 museums are Smithsonian Affiliates. The institution's annual budget is around $1.2 billion with 2/3 coming from annual federal appropriations. Other funding comes from the Institution's endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, and earned retail, concession, and licensing revenue. Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines.The British scientist James Smithson (d. 1829) left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford. When Hungerford died childless in 1835, the estate passed "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", in accordance with Smithson's will. Congress officially accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation, and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836. The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest. Rush returned in August 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns (about $500,000 at the time, which is equivalent to $11,130,000 in 2015). Eight years of Congressional haggling ensued over how to interpret Smithson's rather vague mandate "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." Unfortunately, the money was invested by the US Treasury in bonds issued by the state of Arkansas which soon defaulted. After heated debate, Massachusetts Representative (and ex-President) John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore the lost funds with interest and, despite designs on the money for other purposes, convinced his colleagues to preserve it for an institution of science and learning. Finally, on August 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust instrumentality of the United States, to be administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian. Though the Smithsonian's first Secretary, Joseph Henry, wanted the Institution to be a center for scientific research, it also became the depository for various Washington and U.S. government collections. The United States Exploring Expedition by the U.S. Navy circumnavigated the globe between 1838 and 1842. The voyage amassed thousands of animal specimens, an herbarium of 50,000 plant specimens, and shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater, and ethnographic artifacts from the South Pacific Ocean. These specimens and artifacts became part of the Smithsonian collections, as did those collected by several military and civilian surveys of the American West, including the Mexican Boundary Survey and Pacific Railroad Surveys, which assembled many Native American artifacts and natural history specimens. In 1846, the regents developed a plan for weather observation; in 1847, money was appropriated for meteorological research. When the Detroit philanthropist Charles Lang Freer donated his private collection to the Smithsonian and funds to build the museum to hold it (which was named the Freer Gallery). The gallery opened in 1923. Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts. The Collections Search Center has 9.9 million digital records available online. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries hold 2 million library volumes. Smithsonian Archives hold 156,830 cubic feet of archival material. In 1912, the First Lady Helen Herron Taft had donated her gown to the museum for the First Ladies' Gown display. The museum also has on display for its visitors treasures such as the Star-Spangled Banner, and the stove pipe hat that was worn by President Lincoln. They also have the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard Of Oz. The institution also has the original Teddy Bear that was named after President Theodore Roosevelt. In 2016, the Smithsonian's Air & Space museum curators restored the original Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV series., Henry Schuman, 1949, 2.25, Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007-08-29. Paperback. New., Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007-08-29, 6<