In his will, James Smithson left his estate to his nephew or his nephew's children. In the event that his nephew died without any children, Smithson's fortune was to go to the United States government for "an establishment for the increase and…

British scientist James Smithson provided the funding necessary to create the Smithsonian Institution. Born in France and educated at Oxford University in England, Smithson was a wealthy chemist and mineralogist. He never married or had any children.…