The Department of History is responsible for conducting biographical research on the individuals represented in the collection, creating history-based exhibitions, evaluating objects proposed for acquisition, and keeping records.
The Historian's Office was established in 1966 when Daniel J. Reed was appointed the first Historian. Reed resigned in 1968 and Virginia Cardwell Purdy became Acting Historian. Beverly J. Cox was appointed Historian in 1970. A year later, Lillian B. Miller was appointed Historian and Cox became Assistant Historian. Miller continued to serve as Historian until 1974 when she became Editor of the Charles Willson Peale Papers. Marc Pachter was appointed Historian in 1975 and served in that capacity through 1990. Frederick Voss was Historian, 1994-1996, and Senior Historian, 1997-present. The office was renamed the Department of History around 1995.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Agency History. Record 218149
