That blue expanse on the left of today"s homepage image is the roof of the British Museum"s Great Court and Reading Room in London. The oculus at the top of the dome is made of glass, and the ceilings within are papier-mâché. The Great Court opened in 2000, a new addition to a storied institution. Irish physician Sir Hans Sloane sold his personal collection of antiquities and books to Great Britain in the early 18th century. Sloane’s items included many books, rare manuscripts, and artifacts from around the globe, and he wanted them preserved and exhibited in public. This led to the creation of the British Museum, the world’s first national public museum, which opened this day in 1759. The collection has grown and changed significantly since then, but one detail remains: Admission to this London attraction is still free.
A personal collection becomes an institution
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Cecil Brewer Staircase, London
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Art in the chapel
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50 years of the Endangered Species Act
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Big wheels on a big mountain
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A peek behind the royal curtain
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Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
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A water loch-ed castle
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Craters of the Moon centennial
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Pollinator Week
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Windmills in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands
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Churún Merú waterfall in Venezuela
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The last thing seen by Wile E. Coyote
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Flooded crypt, Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna, Italy
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Celebrating all things Austen
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Exploring the Pearl of the Atlantic
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Field of Light at Sensorio by Bruce Munro
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Agüero, Huesca province, Spain
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A goldie gala
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Frog Month
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Dubrovnik, Croatia
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In celebration of cats
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Falling for Tennessee
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Whale hello there!
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Hispanic Heritage Month
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Ostuni, Apulia, Italy
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Ready for takeoff
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Endangered Species Act
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Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images
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The roots of invention
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Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona