Hosting Institutions

Benjamin Franklin House, located on Craven Street in the heart of London, is the world's only remaining Franklin home. For nearly sixteen years between 1757 and 1775, Dr Benjamin Franklin – scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, Founding Father and more – lived behind its doors. Long derelict, the House opened on Franklin’s 300th birthday as a dynamic museum and educational facility. The Robert H. Smith Scholarship Centre features a full set of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin, as catalogued by Yale University, and an active volunteer programme for university students from the US, the UK, and farther afield. The House hosts some 40 public events each year including the annual Robert H. Smith Family Foundation Lecture in American Democracy.

The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington fosters new scholarly research about George Washington and the Founding Era. Home to many original Washington books and manuscripts, the Library stewards a collection of more than 1,500 rare books, thousands of manuscripts and documents, and safeguards the records of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. The Library offers an annual residential fellowship program to support researchers from around the world and hosts numerous public events to inspire curiosity about Mount Vernon, George Washington, and the Founding Era.

The mission of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS) is to foster Thomas Jefferson scholarship and disseminate findings through research and education. Founded in 1994 by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.—the private, nonprofit organization that has owned and operated Monticello since 1923—the ICJS has created a network of scholars, teachers, and students who engage a global audience in a dialogue with Jefferson’s ideas. Through a fellowship program, international scholarly conferences, panel discussions, teacher workshops, lectures, and curriculum-based tours, the ICJS establishes relationships with people from around the world. The ICJS encompasses the departments of archaeology, research, publications, adult enrichment, the 15,500-square foot Jefferson Library, and the editorial operations of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series. An Advisory Board of acclaimed scholars and statesmen helps guide the Center’s activities.