British Museum

British Museum, national museum of antiquities and ethnography in London. Founded in 1753, when the British government acquired the art collection and library of Sir Hans Sloane, it opened to the public in 1759. Its present neoclassical premises were built 1823–47 and its natural history section was separated 1881–83. The museum has one of the world's foremost collections, including the Elgin Marbles.