Further to Peter Van Mensch's reply (below):

The refusal of the Trustees to have any sort of major ceremonial opening may
have reflected their anger at the way in which the Keeper of the Natural
History Departments (and first director of the separate South Kensington site)
Richard Owen, had used his Tory political connections to force through a
break-up of the integrated British Museum.  This separated the biological
and geological collections from the archaeology, history and library
collections, (a move strongly opposed by many distinguished scientists
also).  At that time the Board of Trustees served the British Museum as a
whole, including the physically separate  BM (Nat.Hist.) at South
Kensington.  Indeed the Natural History Museum has only had a separate
Board of Trustees for a little over 30 years.

Perhaps this was one way in which the Trustees could show their
displeasure at the activities of a disloyal, out of control, Richard Owen
- though I must admit that when I had the nerve to present such a
hypothesis at the Nat. Hist. Museum's Richard Owen centenary conference
two years ago there were howls of rage from the Owen Industry!


Patrick Boylan

 ========================================================================

Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 07:24:41 +0100
From: Peter van Mensch <[log in to unmask]>
To: Multiple recipients of list MUSEUM-L <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: London Museum of Natural History

At 06:32 AM 6/9/96 GMT, you wrote:
>
>I am looking for information about the opening of the London Museum of
>Natural History in South Kensington.  I believe this took place
>between 1881-1885.  Specifically, I would like to know the date of its
>"gala" opening if there was one, and any information on what took
>place...
>Zachary Lesser

This is the Natural History Museum, formerly known as British Museum
(Natural History). The official opening of its premises at South Kensington
took place on 23 April 1881. As far as I know the Trustees decreed that
there should be no formal opening ceremony.

See: Majorie Caygill, The Story of the British Museum (London 1981). And:
William T. Stearn, The Natural History Museum at South Kensington (London 1981).

Peter van Mensch
lecturer of theoretical museology and museum ethics
Reinwardt Academie
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
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