Show E T the h name Is S F familiar BY FE FELIX LIX B S a and rid ELI ELMO SCOTT WATSON smithsonian institution TW ephe H E smithsonian institution in washington ashington bears the name of an englishman who never had set foot on american soil but who left his entire fortune to establish in this country what was destined to become one of the greatest storehouses of scientific knowledge in the world james smithson bom in 1765 was the natural son of a widow elizabeth keate made macie and hugh smithson an english country aquil squire U during his boyhood and college years he bore the name of james lewis macle macie but after he was admitted to the royal K society and had won some fame as a scientist he applied to the james smithson tor for crown per mission to take his fathers name this was granted in 1802 and thereafter he was james smithson however his bis fathers title as duke of northumberland went to his halt half brother lord percy because of the bar sinister on his name he never married he hated the monarchial system and left england to make his home in genoa italy where his life of tragic frustration ended in june 1829 when his will was opened it was found that he had left a fortune of more than half a million dollars to the united states of america to found at washington under the name of the smithsonian institution an establishment lish ment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men why did he do it that is one of the unsolved mysteries of history once he wrote my name shall live in the memory of man when the titles of the Northum berlands and the gercys are extinct and forgotten that may afford a clue bowie knife dictionaries say a bowie knife dis 17 1 7 is stout a straight single edged hunting knife but more than a hundred years ago when hunting knives were more important as a means of self preservation a bowie knife was known as the kind that jim bowie carries history is not certain as to who invented the knife but there is no question that it was named after colonel james bowie a native of tennessee al there is a story that bowie thrust his butcher knife into an attacking indian and his hand slipped down over the blade cutting it severely however it james bowie was the indian who failed to heal up not bowie and at his first opportunity bowie had a hunting knife made to order with a guard on it soon after he began to carry it he was attacked by three desperadoes and killed all of them with his new kind of knife the men of the times began ordering knives like bowies and soon began merely to ask for bowie knives bowie was finally killed himself in the battle of the alamo but when his body was found it was surrounded by dead mexicans whom he had killed first col james bowie was the kind of man who if he lived today would be prominent in the testimonial ti advertisements released by western newspaper union |