History of the British Museum

I always enjoy a visit to the British Museum and it’s humbling to think that it was first founded over 300 years ago. That’s a lot of historical exhibits over the years! It started off as a show of curiosities, which were the private collection of Sir Hans Sloane who founded the museum in 1700. Eventually Sloane’s collection was sold to the state and the museum as we know it today was born. It’s strange to think that such a solid national institution was created almost by accident, but it has gone on to delight visitors over hundreds of years and has even played a major role in uncovering new treasures across the globe to be enjoyed by people worldwide.

5 February 2010 | Reference