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History
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than 7 million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.
Sir Hans Sloane, founder of the British Museum
The origins of the British Museum lie in the will of the physician, naturalist and collector, Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753). Sloane wanted his collection of more than 71,000 objects, library and herbarium to be preserved intact after his death. He bequeathed it to King George II for the nation in return for payment of £20,000 to his heirs. If refused, the collection was to be offered to centres of learning abroad. A large and influential group of Trustees was charged with overseeing the disposition of his estate.
Sir Hans Sloan
On 7 June 1753 King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum.
The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum - national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public and aiming to collect everything.
Left to Right: Montagu House, Townley Gallery and Sir Robert Smirke's west wing under construction (July 1828)
In the early days of the British Museum the collection was divided in three : Printed Books (including prints); Manuscripts (including medals); Natural and Artificial Productions (everything else).
In the early part of the nineteenth century there were a number of high profile acquisitions. These included the Rosetta Stone (1802), the Townley collection of classical sculpture (1805), and the Parthenon sculptures (1816).
The nineteenth century: expansion and discovery
In 1823 the gift to the nation by George IV of his father's library (the King's Library) prompted the construction of today's quadrangular building designed by