The Smithsonian Journal of History was a scholarly quarterly specializing in illustrated articles. The Journal had its inception in the 1964 meetings of the Association of Curators and won financial support from the Secretary of the Smithsonian in December 1964. The first issue published was Spring 1966. Articles were contributed by professional historians and were not limited to any particular subject, area of interest, nation, or time period. The "Notes and Queries" section of each issue carried notes of important research programs, museum acquisitions, and exhibits both at the Smithsonian and at other historical museums. This section also printed requests for information about important or unusual objects. Due to financial and schedule problems, the Journal was forced to terminate publication after the Winter 1968-1969 issue. The last meeting of its Board was in 1971.
Although officially the responsibility of the Director of the National Museum of History and Technology, administrative decisions were handled by an Editorial Board. Susan Faye Cannon served as Editor for the first five issues. Upon Cannon's resignation in July 1967, Peter C. Welsh became Editor for the last seven issues. The Journal's Board of Advisors, a group of noted historians, served as advisors on selection of manuscripts and related activities.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Agency History. Record 221099
