Education
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James Smithson believed that every person who gains knowledge through observation, research, and experiment is valuable to society, and that human greatness and happiness come from knowledge. He held that the same laws govern both the smallest particle and the planet, and that ignorance brings loss while error brings evil. He bequeathed the whole of his prosperity to the United States of America to found at Washington the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.
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Washington, District of Columbia · United States
