UMW announces 2024 Great Lives lecture series

Free public lecture series is now in its third decade. Also in this issue: Giving Tuesday is Nov. 28.

by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT

The 21st annual William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture series will explore familiar historical, literary and cultural figures such William Shakespeare, George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.

It will also present the lives of lesser-known figures like Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who established a school for Black men that became Virginia Union University; and Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest sister of John F. Kennedy whose tragic life inspired her siblings’ advocacy on behalf of Americans with disabilities.

The University of Mary Washington announced the 2024 lineup last week to 140 supporters of the lecture series, now in its third decade.

It used to be an academic course with certain lectures open to the public, but has gained such a large following, in addition to an endowment from John Chappell of Philadelphia, that it is now a signature event for the university.

The first of 18 programs will take place on Jan. 18, with Douglas Waller presenting on Wild Bill Donovan, who during World War II directed the Office of Strategic Services (the country’s first national intelligence agency) and is considered the father of today’s CIA.

The rest of the series is as follows. All lectures are free and held in Dodd Auditorium. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and lectures begin at 7:30 p.m.

• Jan. 18: Lewis & Clark/Sacagawea with Dale Blanshan

• Jan. 23: Shakespeare with Elizabeth Winkler

• Jan. 25: George VI and Elizabeth with Sally Bedell Smith

• Jan. 30: Sam Shepard with Jon Winters

• Feb. 6: George Washington with Alexis Coe

• Feb. 8: Mary Lumpkin: Enslaved Woman, Liberator with Kristen Green (a UMW graduate)

• Feb. 15: Franklin D. Roosevelt with Jonathan Darman

• Feb. 20: Picasso with Marjorie Och

• Feb. 22: Stan Lee: Spider-Man and Marvel Comics with Bob Batchelor

• Feb. 27: Martin Luther King Jr. with Jonathan Eig

• Feb. 29: Rosemary Kennedy with Kate Clifford Larson

• Mar. 12: Edith (Mrs. Woodrow) Wilson with Rebecca Roberts

• Mar. 14: Billie Jean King with Johnette Howard

• Mar. 19: Elizabeth Taylor with Kate A. Brower

• Mar. 26: Ten Caesars with Barry Straus

• Mar. 28: Edgar Allan Poe with Mark Dawidziak

Giving Tuesday is Next Week

This Year - Remember FXBG Advance

The FXBG Advance is filling a critical void in our community - and we are doing so because of your support. Over the past year, we have moved from a simple blog to a full-blown news service because our readers have made it possible for us to hire Adele Uphaus as managing editor, bring Vanessa Sekinger aboard as books and culture editor, and bring together an extraordinary range of talented guest writers.

This coming Tuesday, November 28, we're asking you to help us take the Advance to an even higher level. Your contribution of $8 a month, $80 year, or $500 founding membership is critical to our hiring a new reporter dedicated to Stafford County.

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-Martin Davis, editor-in-chief

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