Join me on Thursday, June 6, 2024, for the White House Historical Association’s History Happy Hour. The program is free and begins at 6 pm ET. Register Here to receive the Zoom link.
The White House Historical Association (WHHA) is “a private, nonprofit, educational organization with a mission to enhance the understanding and appreciation of the Executive Mansion.” One of their many initiatives is History Happy Hour, which enables experts to present topics related to the White House and the presidency. True to its name, the Happy Hour begins with a cocktail created by Fernando Sousa on behalf of the program’s sponsor, Diageo North America, from their headquarters in New York City.
My program riffs off my most recent book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius. I will talk about how Abraham Lincoln helped institutionalize science and modernized America. Lincoln had a lifelong fascination with science and technology and was the only president with a patent. He advocated for technological advancement as a legislator in Illinois and Washington D.C. and became the “go-to” Western lawyer on technology and patent cases during his legal career. For this presentation, I’ll focus on how, during the Civil War, Lincoln drew upon his commitment to science and personally encouraged inventors while taking dramatic steps to institutionalize science via the Smithsonian Institution, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Department of Agriculture.
My guest moderator for the program is John O’Brien, who, like me, is a past president of the Lincoln Group of DC. John will introduce me and then feed me questions from the audience after my presentation. The entire program will take only about 50 minutes, during which we are sure to have a little fun (especially if the audience pours themselves a little “happy hour” refreshment along with Fernando Sousa).
The program is presented virtually via Zoom so pre-registration is required to receive the Zoom link. There is no charge for the program. Register Here.
I hope you will join me. Normally there are around 400 participants in these programs, so I am asking for all Lincoln and science aficionados to sign up!
Register Here!
Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.
Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.
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David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.
His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity andEdison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
