Distant Education College,Jilin University Background Knowledge 1.James Smithson (1765-1829):English scientist and founder of the Smithsonian Institution.He was the illegitimate son of 1st Duke of Northumberland,Hugh Smithson,and Elizabeth H.K.Macie,a descendant of Henry VIl.He was educated in Oxford,and devoted his life to chemical and mine-rological research.He remained single when he died in Genoa,Italy,on June 26,1829.Although he had never visited the United States,he willed his fortune of about $500,000 to the country "to found at Washington,under the name of the Smithsonian Institution,an establishment for the increase diffusion of knowledge among men."His remains now lie in a chapel in the main entrance of the Smithsonian Building. (Picture) More 1. James Smithson (1765-1829): English scientist and founder of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the illegitimate son of 1 st Duke of Northumberland, Hugh Smithson, and Elizabeth H. K. Macie, a descendant of Henry VII. He was educated in Oxford, and devoted his life to chemical and mine-rological research. He remained single when he died in Genoa, Italy, on June 26, 1829. Although he had never visited the United States, he willed his fortune of about $500,000 to the country “to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.” His remains now lie in a chapel in the main entrance of the Smithsonian Building. (Picture) Background Knowledge Distant Education College, Jilin University More