Studded with molten clumps of minerals (chondrules) distributed like currants in a fruitcake, the Allende meteorite, as it came to be known, contains the oldest material in the Smithsonian ...

John Hiller, an employee in the Smithsonian's Office of Exhibits Central, acquired the collection from John Wellemeyer sometime in the 1990s. According to Hiller, Wellemeyer was involved with ...