News Release: Lafayette Marks Marquis’ Birthday with Two Lectures

In honor of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 258th birthday on September 6, Lafayette College is hosting two distinguished speakers. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

Thursday, Sept. 10 – John Stauffer, Professor of English, American Studies, and African American Studies at Harvard University, will speak on “Lafayette and the Abolitionists” from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Gendebien Room of Skillman Library. Throughout the talk, he will connect the abolitionist movement in America and Britain to Marquis de Lafayette—highlighting Lafayette’s great influence on both black and white abolitionists of his time.

Throughout his career, Stauffer has written and spoken widely about slavery and abolition. He is the author of The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race, co-editor of Prophets of Protest: Reconsidering the History of American Abolitionism, and he has appeared in and served as an advisor to the PBS documentaries, The Abolitionists and The African American Experience: Many Rivers to Cross.

Tuesday, Sept. 15 – Marc Jensen, Director of Maritime Operations and crew member of the Hermione, a historic replica of the Marquis de Lafayette’s ship, will speak on “Aboard Lafayette’s Freedom Frigate, Then and Now” from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Gendebien Room of Skillman library.

A life-long sailor, an engineer, and an educator, Jensen avidly followed the progress of the building of Hermione in Rochefort, France, near his ancestral home. Jensen, who is bilingual and a resident of the U.S., was named a U.S. delegate to the project in 2011. Throughout his lecture, he will reveal what life was like aboard during his recent crossing and how it differs from what was experienced by the sailors of 1780. From sleeping to eating or simply working the sails, the 2015 Hermione crew had many advantages for crossing the Atlantic.

The 2015 Lafayette Birthday Lectures are sponsored by Friends of Skillman Library at Lafayette College.

For more information, contact Diane Shaw, college archivist, shawd@lafayette.edu, (610) 330-5148.

###

Higher resolution photos provided upon request.

Kristine Y. Todaro
Director/Special Projects & Media Relations
Lafayette College
Easton, Pa. 18042
610-330-5119
LafColnews@lafayette.edu
www.lafayette.edu
Follow us on Twitter @LafColnews