In a lecture entitled "Joseph Henry and the Smithsonian Institute," one of a series on "The History of American Science," J. G. Crowther, London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, declared that the creation of new methods was essential to the progress of science.

Citing Henry as an example of a great scientific organizer, Crowther said, "In total achievement Henry was the equal of Faraday, Helmholtz, Kelvin, Maxwell, and the other great scientists of the nineteenth century." During his thirty-two years as the first secretary, and later head, of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, Henry was responsible for its development.

"Henry did much toward establishing the profession of scientific administration," Crowther continued, "a profession which in the complexity of modern civilization is becoming more and more essential to scientific progress."

Concluding the lecture, he stated that society is being disrupted by forces within it, and that it must be strengthened by the discovery of methods of promoting and using science.