In 1901, Andrew Carnegie retired from business to begin his career in philanthropy. Among his ideas for new enterprises, he considered establishing a national university in Washington, D.C., similar to the great centers of learning in Europe. Because he was concerned that a new university could weaken existing institutions, he opted for a more exciting, albeit riskier, endeavor—an independent research organization that would increase basic scientific knowledge.

Carnegie contacted President Theodore Roosevelt and declared his readiness to endow the new institution with $10 million. He added $2 million more to the endowment in 1907, and another $10 million in 1911.

As ex officio members of the first board of trustees, Carnegie chose the President of the United States, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the president of the National Academy of Sciences. In all, he selected 27 men for the institution’s original board. Their first meeting was held in the office of the Secretary of State on January 29, 1902, and Daniel C. Gilman, who had been president of Johns Hopkins University, was elected president.

Initially, the president and trustees devoted much of the institution’s budget to individual grants in various fields, including astronomy, anthropology, literature, economics, history and mathematics. Under the leadership of Robert Woodward, who became president in 1904, the board changed its course, deciding to provide major support to departments of research rather than to individuals. This approach allowed them to concentrate on fewer fields and support groups of researchers in related areas over many years. Since the beginning, the Carnegie Institution has been like an explorer—discovering new areas, but often leaving the development to others. This philosophy has fostered new areas of science and has led to unexpected benefits to society, including the development of hybrid corn, radar, the technology that led to Pyrex ® glass, and novel techniques to control genes called RNA interference.

Carnegie’s intention was for the institution to be home to exceptional individuals—those with imagination and extraordinary dedication capable of working at the cutting edge of their fields. Some of Carnegie’s leading researchers are well known:

Edwin Hubble, who revolutionized astronomy with his discovery that the universe is expanding and that there are galaxies other than our own Milky Way;

Charles Richter, who created the earthquake measurement scale;

Barbara McClintock, who won the Nobel Prize for her early work on patterns of genetic inheritance;

Alfred Hershey, who won the Nobel Prize for determining that DNA, not protein, harbors the genetic recipe for life;

Vera Rubin, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Science for her work confirming the existence of dark matter in the universe; and

Andrew Fire, who with colleagues, opened up the world of RNA interference, for which he shared a Nobel Prize in 2006

Carnegie Institution scientists are given the freedom to investigate areas of interest under the broad goals of individual departments. Working in six scientific departments on the West and East Coasts, Carnegie investigators are leaders in the fields of plant biology, developmental biology, earth and planetary sciences, astronomy, and global ecology. They seek answers to questions about the structure of the universe, the formation of our solar system and other planetary systems, the behavior and transformation of matter when subjected to extreme conditions, the origin of life, the function of genes, and the development of organisms from single-celled egg to adult.

The Carnegie Institution is headquartered in Washington, D.C., where Richard A. Meserve serves as president. The departments of Terrestrial Magnetism and Geophysical Laboratory are co-located in northwest Washington, D.C. The Department of Embryology resides on the campus of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Three departments are located in California: Plant Biology and Global Ecology on the campus of Stanford University, and the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, with observing facilities in Las Campanas, Chile. Each department has a director appointed by the president and departmental administration is kept to a minimum.

In addition to the scientists on staff, there is a constantly changing roster of pre- and postdoctoral fellows, associates, and visiting investigators at each facility who fully participate in the work of the departments. Unlike postdoctoral fellows at most universities, Carnegie fellows are encouraged to carry out their own projects with the general guidance of senior staff.

In 1989, former President Maxine Singer launched a Saturday science school called First Light. The school encourages Washington, D.C., children to explore the world around them with the aid of a unique, hands-on curriculum. The success of First Light led to the establishment of CASE, the Carnegie Academy for Science Education, which provides training to middle and high school teachers in the art of teaching science, mathematics, and technology.

Through its research and educational programs, the institution remains true to the charge of its founder to “encourage investigation, research, and discovery and show the application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind. . . .”