Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture - History

History

The roots of the Burke Museum can be traced back to an amateur natural history club founded in the early 1880s, known as the Young Naturalists' Society. The YNS began collaborating with the Territorial University of Washington through natural science professor Orson Bennett Johnson. Johnson became an advocate for the professionalization of the society and helped them increase their understanding of natural history and refocus their efforts on collecting, educating, and displaying objects to and for the public. With Johnson's guidance, the group's membership, natural history collections, and ambitions grew, resulting in the creation of Seattle's first natural history museum at the Territorial University's downtown campus. Over the years, the YNS and their museum expanded their collections to include newly discovered marine specimens, and expanded their membership to include a number of women.

The original museum was shut down when the Territorial University moved north to become the University of Washington. Several members followed the school and organized an on-campus museum. In 1899, the Washington State Legislature named this new organization the Washington State Museum. Following this development, the Young Naturalists' Society was disbanded in 1904.

However, the new Washington State Museum continued to lack a permanent home for its collections until 1962, when the Burke's present building was constructed (designed by James Chiarelli). Funds for the structure came from a grant from the National Science Foundation and a bequest from the estate of Caroline McGilvra Burke. Following this gift, the museum was renamed in honor of Burke's late husband Judge Thomas Burke.