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SUMMARY:Ten things you always wanted to know about Hans Sloane\, founder o
 f the British Museum... but were afraid to ask - James Delbourgo (Rutgers 
 University)
DTSTART:20170605T120000Z
DTEND:20170605T130000Z
UID:TALK72294@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Edwin Rose
DESCRIPTION:In 1759 the British Museum opened its doors for the first time
  – the first free national public museum in the world. But how did it co
 me into being? This talk is based on a new biography of its founder\, Hans
  Sloane\, which recounts the story behind the museum's creation. Born in N
 orthern Ireland in 1660\, Sloane amassed a fortune as a London society phy
 sician\, becoming a member of the Whig establishment and president of the 
 Royal Society and Royal College of Physicians. His wealth and contacts ena
 bled him to assemble an encyclopedic collection of specimens and objects 
 – the most famous cabinet of curiosities of its time. For Sloane\, colle
 cting a world of objects meant collecting a world of people. His marriage 
 to a Jamaican sugar heiress gave him access to both planters and African s
 laves\, from whom he collected a variety of objects. He then established a
  network of agents to supply artifacts from China\, India\, North America\
 , the Caribbean and beyond: plants and animals\, books and manuscripts\, a
  'shoe made of human skin'\, the head of an Arctic walrus\, slaves' banjos
 \, magical amulets\, Buddhist shrines\, copies of the Qur'ān and more –
  nothing was off limits to Sloane's curiosity and fortune. The overlooked 
 story of one of the Enlightenment's most controversial luminaries offers a
  fresh perspective on the entanglement of scientific discovery and imperia
 lism in the eighteenth century and the heritage of today's global museums.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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