This miniature portrait portrays British scientist James Smithson (c. 1765–1829), the Smithsonian Institution’s founding patron. Smithson left his fortune to the U.S. government to establish an institution “for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.” Smithson was born out of wedlock to a duke, who refused to recognize his son in a society oriented around pedigree. Although Smithson never visited the United States, he admired its democratic ideals.