Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and himself a budding astronaut, is giving $200 million to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian said Wednesday. The Smithsonian said the donation is its biggest philanthropic gift since the Institution’s founding gift from James Smithson, in 1846. The Smithsonian said $70 million will help with the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum, and $130 million will be used for a new education center, to be called the Bezos Learning Center. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, also founded a rocket company, Blue Origin, more than two decades ago. He is slated to be on a trip later this month in what would be Blue Origin’s first human spaceflight.

Source: New York Times July 14, 2021 18:33 UTC