''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.

History

The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when

Edward K. Thompson Edward Kramer Thompson (January 15, 1907 – October 8, 1996) was an American writer and editor. He was the editor of ''Life'' from its early days as a weekly and was the founding editor of '' Smithsonian'' magazine. Biography Thompson was born ...

, the retired editor of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

'' magazine, was asked by the then-Secretary of the Smithsonian,

S. Dillon Ripley S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. S may also refer to: History * an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics * Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s formerly used where "s ...

, to produce a magazine "about things in which the Smithsonian nstitutionis interested, might be interested or ought to be interested." Thompson would later recall that his philosophy for the new magazine was that it "would stir curiosity in already receptive minds. It would deal with history as it is relevant to the present. It would present art, since true art is never dated, in the richest possible reproduction. It would peer into the future via coverage of social progress and of science and technology. Technical matters would be digested and made intelligible by skilled writers who would stimulate readers to reach upward while not turning them off with jargon. We would find the best writers and the best photographers—not unlike the best of the old ''Life''." In 1973, the magazine turned a profit for the first time. By 1974, circulation had nearly quadrupled, to 635,000, and it reached the one million milestone in 1975—one of the most successful launches of its time. In 1980, Thompson was replaced by Don Moser, who had also worked at ''Life'', and circulation reached upwards of two million, in turn, by Carey Winfrey upon his retirement in 2001. Michael Caruso succeeded Carey Winfrey in 2011, and served as editor-in-chief until 2019. Since that time Deborah Rosenberg and Terence Monmaney have served as executive editors.

''Smithsonian'' American Ingenuity Awards

Every year since 2012, the magazine has sponsored the American Ingenuity Awards, a recognition of innovation in the arts, sciences and technology. Winners have included Bryan Stevenson,

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The B ...

, Lin-Manuel Miranda, OK Go, John Krasinski,

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...

, Aziz Ansari, Rosanne Cash,

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former presi ...

, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and David Lynch. Presenters have included Stephen Hawking (twice), Stephen Colbert, David Byrne,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

, Erin Brockovich,

Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...

Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show '' Bil ...

, Art Spiegelman and Senator Al Franken. The American Ingenuity Award itself was created by the artist Jeff Koons.

Contributors

Notable past and current contributors to ''Smithsonian'' have included: * Richard Conniff * Frank Deford * Eileen Gunn *

Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured i ...

* Jon Krakauer *

Jill Lepore Jill Lepore is an American historian and journalist. She is the David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at '' The New Yorker'', where she has contributed since 2005. She writes about America ...

Franz Lidz Franz Lidz (born September 24, 1951) is an American writer, journalist and pro basketball executive. A ''New York Times'' archaeology, science and film essayist, he's a former ''Sports Illustrated'' senior writer,

* Alan Lightman * Jo Marchant * David McCullough * Susan Orlean * Nathaniel Philbrick * Paul Theroux

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smithsonian (magazine) 1970 establishments in Washington, D.C. English-language magazines History magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1970 Magazines published in Washington, D.C. Monthly magazines published in the United States Science and technology magazines published in the United States Smithsonian Institution publications Webby Award winners