Daguerreotype of Professor Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian
name: label: depicted (sitter)
content: Henry, Joseph
notes: label: Description
content: Professor Joseph Henry was the first Secretary of the Smithsonian. In the earliest days the Smithsonian consisted of a single building, the Castle, which housed a museum, library, Henry's family, and other facilities. At the onset of the Civil War, Henry faced questions about his loyalty to the Union. He had close friends that favored succession and as a "scientific racist," Henry believed that people of African descent were biologically inferior. He opposed the abolition of slavery and was criticized for halting a lecture series on that subject and refusing to allow Frederick Douglas to speak. However, Henry did contribute to the Union war effort. He backed Thaddeus Lowe, an aeronaut who conducted military reconnaissance in balloons. Henry also served on a scientific commission that evaluated proposed inventions and designs for the U.S. Navy.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Civil War
label: Subject
content: Portraits
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
label: See more items in
content: Civil War
label: See more items in
content: Photography
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Caroline Henry
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PG.001711
label: accession number
content: 55663
label: catalog number
content: 1711
objectType: label: Object Name
content: photograph
label: Object Name
content: daguerreotype
label: Other Terms
content: photograph; Photograph; Daguerreotype
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: copper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: open: 5 7/8 in x 9 1/4 in x 1/4 in; 14.9225 cm x 23.495 cm x .635 cm
label: Measurements
content: closed: 5 7/8 in x 4 1/2 in x 9/16 in; 14.9225 cm x 11.43 cm x 1.42875 cm