Fact 271: When was the British Museum founded?
Fact 271: When was the British Museum founded?
I took this photo!
The British museum was founded by Sir Hans Sloane who was a seventeenth-century physician by traid and a collector of objects from around the world. By Sir Hans Sloane's death in 1753 he had collected more than 71,000 items. Sloane bequeathed (bequeathed basically means, left or gifted) his collection to the nation in his will and some of his collection of more than 71,000 items became the founding collection of (and for) the British Museum.
The British Museum was founded in 1753 (after Sir Hans Sloane's death) and opened its doors in 1759 to the public (the Nation).
Sir Hans Sloane was born on 16th April 1660 and died on the 11th January 1753.
Much of the wealth Sloane used to purchase his vast collection was derived from slavery due to Sloane’s marriage to Elizabeth Langley Rose, one-third of the income from her plantations and her property became his. Also In one of Sir Hans Sloane letters, Sloane referred to himself as a planter, which was an 18th-century euphemism for slave owner.
Acouding to the British Museum "Sloane worked as a doctor on slave plantations...".
Sir Hans Sloane collection of more than 71,000 artifacts was bequeathed to the British nation and his collection of items became the founding collection of the British Museum and the British Library, and also the Natural History Museum, all of which is in London.
