Establishment of the British Museum
- When
- 1753
- Where
- London
- Episodes
- 1
On 7 June 1753, King George II granted royal assent to the Act of Parliament establishing the British Museum in London. The institution was founded on Sir Hans Sloane's collection, augmented by the Cottonian and Harleian Libraries, creating the world's first public national museum.
Episodes
Background and detail
Parliamentary Establishment. The British Museum Act 1753 formally established the institution. Beyond Sloane's bequest, the Act incorporated the Cottonian Library, assembled by Sir Robert Cotton, and the Harleian Library, the collection of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer.
People involved
- King George II · Monarch granting royal assent
- Sir Hans Sloane · Physician and naturalist whose collection founded the museum
- Sir Robert Cotton · Assembler of the Cottonian Library included in the Act
- Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer · Owner of the Harleian Library included in the Act
Sources
- British Museum Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-28
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.