Smithsonite Specimen

A specimen of smithsonite, still in the rock matrix, from the Kelly Mine in New Mexico, the best source of smithsonite in North America. As an 18th century gentleman-scientist, James Smithson conducted chemical analyses of minerals and published his findings, perhaps most famously a study of “calamines” in 1802 that distinguished among two varieties (zinc carbonate and zinc silicate) that had different suitabilities for technological applications in making brass. The French mineralogist François Beudant later named zinc carbonate “smithsonite” in honor of Smithson’s discovery. The Cullman Library holds James Smithson’s personal library and we frequently include selections from it for our tour displays⁠—when we show his calamines publication, we will now be able to also show the mineral itself.