Smithsonian given $14.5 million from Lemelson center

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.

The gift from the Lemelson Foundation will permanently endow the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, which was founded in 1995 with an initial contribution of $10.4 million, at the time the largest cash donation from an individual.

The latest gift brings the foundation's total commitment to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to $40 million.

"The Lemelson Foundation created a formula for success combining private philanthropy with established scholarship to ensure that America continues to foster innovation and remains a leader of invention," Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small said in a statement issued Thursday.

The foundation is named after Jerome Lemelson, one of the most prolific American inventors, who received more than 550 U.S. patents. His inventions contributed to the creation of fax machines, video recorders, bar-code readers and automatic teller machines.

Lemelson and his wife, Dorothy of Incline Village, Nev., established the foundation in 1993. He died in 1997.

On April 26, the center will open an exhibition called "Nobel Voices: Celebrating 100 Years of the Nobel Prize."

On the Net:

The Lemelson Center: http://www.si.edu/lemelson/