The British Museum

 
 
The British Museum was founded in 1753, the first national public museum in the world with a simple mission statement “to preserve its collection for the use and benefit of the public who may have free access to view and peruse the same”.
In 1857 the new purpose built Museum opened with the Round Reading Room at its heart. Changes continued throughout the nineteenth century with the iconic development of the Great Court and the construction of the Norman Foster roof in 2000.