February 12th is always a good day because it blends my two careers – Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day in 1809. Both changed the world in remarkable ways. So Happy Birthday to Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.
It will be a busy week. For the third year in a row I’ll be laying the wreath at the foot of the statue in the Lincoln Memorial for the Lincoln Group of DC, joined by Wendy Swanson. If you’re in Washington DC Monday at noon, stop by the Lincoln Memorial. Here is video from last year’s wreath laying.
On Tuesday night I’ll be attending a joint meeting of the Lincoln Group of DC and the Civil War Round Table of DC. Our speaker, which I’m happy to say I arranged, is Sidney Blumenthal, famous politico and author of two great books on Abraham Lincoln (with two more volumes in the works).
Saturday will take me to Ford’s Theatre for the monthly Lincoln Group of DC Book Discussion Group. We’ll finish up our current book (James McPherson’s Lincoln and the Second American Revolution) and choose the next book to read. This is a great time to join us so check out the web page link. From that group I’ll join others in an intensive meeting in which we’ll inventory Lincoln-related items we’ll auction off in April.
It doesn’t stop there. Next week (February 22nd, 7 pm) I’ll be at the National Archives for the Lincoln-Douglas-Douglass Debates. In this very special presentation we’ll have Lincoln interpreter George Buss recreating his famous debates with Stephen A. Douglas (portrayed by Tim Connors). After a short break, Lincoln will return to have a discussion with Frederick Douglass (portrayed by Phil Darius Wallace) using a script written by world famous Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer. Harold will moderate the debates. This is a once in a lifetime event that cannot be missed. [And it’s free] Check out more info at the National Archives.
And that’s just the next two weeks following on recent events that included Part 1 of 3 as the featured book discussion on the Railsplitter podcast, a successful Ask Me Anything online Q&A, and C-SPAN coverage of my presentation on Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.
It doesn’t stop there. I’m planning several Lincoln events for March, including joining the Board of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, attending the annual ALI Symposium, taking a trip to Newport News to view the ironclad Monitor, starting the new book in our monthly book discussion group, touring the Gettysburg Battlefield, and then the beginning of the first segment of my “Chasing Abraham Lincoln” road trip. Stay tuned.
Happy Birthday, Abraham Lincoln! And Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin!
David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
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