Pictured above is smithsonite, a zinc carbonate mineral that was named after James Smithson (c. 1765–1829), a British chemist, mineralogist, and the founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution.

A specimen of smithsonite housed in the museum’s mineral and gem collection. Jack Tamisiea, NMNH With more than 148 million specimens and objects, the vast majority of the National Museum of ...

Smithsonite, or zinc spar, is a carbon zinc ore.This mineral was named in 1832 after English chemist and mineralogist James Smithson (founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution). Smithsonian ...

House Bill 411 would amend a law covering other official state symbols, such as the official state bird and flower, and add Smithsonite as the official mineral of New Mexico. The bill has passed ...

The mineral occurs in cavities, most often in fluorite, as a brick-red deposit associated with smithsonite (ZnCO 3) and iron-staining, and under the microscope appears as minute red specks dusting ...

A mineral formerly called calamine and now called smithsonite (after the man whose money was used to found the Smithsonian), this astringent was used in the old days to dry up skin lesions.