The British Museum, located in Bloomsbury, London, is a public institution dedicated to history, art, and culture. Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), a physician, naturalist and collector, had bequeathed his vast collection of 71,000 objects to the nation, leading to an Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. It was originally established in 1753 and opened, free of charge, to the public in 1759, housing the collection in Montagu House in Great Russell Street. The museum expanded throughout the following centuries, branching out to now-independent institutions including the Natural History Museum (1881) and the British Library (1973). The museum’s permanent collection of 8 million works has particularly thrived due to British colonialism, and some of its collection is the subject of controversy amid calls for the restitution of artifacts from other countries. The Museum is currently housed in an 1840’s neoclassical building on the site of Montagu House. Notable works include the Parthenon Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, and the Assyrian lion hunt reliefs.