Henry was a noted scientist in the United States when he was selected to serve as the first Secretary, or chief executive officer, of the new Smithsonian Institution in 1846. He served for 30 years, developing the new museum as a center for research,…

This detail of Adolph Sachse's stylized bird's-eye view of Washington highlights the section of the National Mall west of the US Capitol on present-day 6th Street. The National Mall was still parkland, a series of gardens, experimental plots, and…

On June 11, 1927, President Calvin Coolidge awarded American aviator Charles Lindbergh the Distinguished Flying Cross in a ceremony held on the north side of the Washington Monument Grounds. Lindbergh, who was 25 years old, had completed the first…

The Aircraft Building was constructed in 1917 for the use of the US Signal Service during World War I. After the war ended, the building was transferred to the Smithsonian. It opened to the public in October 1920 as an exhibit space housing aircraft.…

The Treasury Department is one of the oldest government departments. It was among those established when the federal government moved to Washington in 1800. The first Treasury Department building was damaged by fire in 1801 and completely destroyed…

During World War I, the federal government built a number of temporary office buildings in Washington to hold all the new workers. The group shown in this photograph stretched across the Mall from north to south just east of 7th Street, visible…

On June 25, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 which prohibited racial and other discrimination in the defense industry. The Executive Order was a partial response by the White House to a planned march by African American…

The polo field on the National Mall has been a popular site for polo matches since the early 1900s. During World War II members of the military, including General George S. Patton, used the field for intramural games. Today, the polo field and…

In 1860, the first baseball clubs in Washington, DC, the Nationals and the Potomacs, played a game on the field south of the White House, then known as the White Lot. The field was originally open to baseball enthusiasts of all races, but became…

Even before President Abraham Lincoln officially created a Department of Agriculture in 1862, the Bureau of Agriculture, part of the Patent Office, was growing crops on the National Mall, conducting research, and distributing seeds across the…