Buckingham Smith

Thomas Buckingham Smith was a nineteenth-century lawyer, diplomat, and antiquarian who dedicated much of his life to researching the early history of North America. Born in 1810, Smith balanced his professional career in law and diplomacy with a passionate pursuit of historical scholarship, focusing specifically on the era of early Spanish exploration and settlement on the continent.

Smith's most significant contribution to historical scholarship was his work as a translator and editor. He located, translated, and published numerous critical Spanish documents that detailed the early encounters and colonial efforts in North America. By rendering these primary sources into English, Smith provided subsequent generations of historians with invaluable access to the foundational records of early American history. His efforts as an author and archivist continued until his death in 1871.