About the Lectures
This free lecture series brings renowned biographers, a number of them Pulitzer Prize winners, to the Mary Washington campus to explore the diverse lives and achievements of remarkable people.
Video recordings of the lectures will be uploaded to the UMW Great Lives Lectures website and will be available in the weeks following the live lectures.
Interested in learning more? We're gathering lists* of supplementary materials for each lecture, including books and movies you can check out from the library.
*Not all lectures have lists attached yet.
Lecture Schedule
Lectures are always held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, January through March, in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium. Typically, they include question-and-answer sessions and book-signings.
January 20: Paul Revere, Revolutionary Rider
January 22: Aimee Semple McPherson, Pioneering Televangelist
January 27: John Williams, Movie Music Master
January 29: Barbara Jordan, The South’s First Black Congresswoman
February 3: Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live
February 5: Judy Blume, Children's Author
February 10: Robert Crumb, Counterculture Cartoonist
February 12: Jerry West, Basketball’s “Mr. Logo”
February 17: The Brothers Grimm, Fathers of Folklore
February 19: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, & Count Basie, Jazz Music Giants
February 24: Elizabeth Packard, Champion of Women’s Rights
February 26: Jemima Boone, Captive Colonial Child
March 10: Desi Arnaz, Actor & Husband to Lucille Ball
March 12: Gertrude Bell, Adventurer
March 17: John Hancock, Revolutionary Ringmaster
March 19: Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday, Pistol-Packing Pair
January
Paul Revere, Revolutionary Rider
Tuesday, January 20
The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America
Speaker: Author, Kostya Kennedy
Paul Revere Booklist
Resources List on Paul Revere
Also part of our VA250 program.
Aimee Semple McPherson, Televangelist
Thursday, January 22
Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson
Speaker: Author, Claire Hoffman
Aimee Semple McPherson Booklist
Resource List on Aimee Semple McPherson
John Williams, Movie Music Master
Tuesday, January 27
John Williams: A Composer’s Life
Speaker: Author, Tim Greiving
Barbara Jordan, The South's First Congresswoman
Thursday, January 29
She Changed the Nation: Barbara Jordan’s Life and Legacy in Black Politics
Speaker: Author, Mary Ellen Curtin
Barbara Jordan Booklist
Resources list on Barbara Jordan
February
Lorne Michaels, Live from New York
Tuesday, February 3
Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
Speaker: Author, Susan Morrison
Lorne Michaels Booklist
Resources List on Lorne Michaels
Judy Blume, Beloved Children's Author
Thursday, February 5
The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us
Speaker: Author, Rachelle Bergstein
Robert Crumb, Counterculture Cartoonist
Tuesday, February 10
Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life
Speaker: Author, Dan Nadal
Jerry West, Basketball's "Mr. Logo"
Thursday, February 12
West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life
Speaker: Author, Jonathan Coleman
The Brothers Grimm, Fathers of Folklore
Tuesday, February 17
The Brothers Grimm: A Biography
Speaker: Author, Ann Schmiesing
Jazz Giants: Ellington, Armstrong, & Basie
Thursday, February 19
The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America
Speaker: Author, Larry Tye
Jazz Giants Booklist
Resources List on Jazz Giants
Elizabeth Packard, Champion of Women's Rights
Tuesday, February 24
Jemima Boone, Captured Colonial Child
Thursday, February 26
The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap That Shaped America
Speaker: Author, Matthew Pearl
Jemima Boone Booklist
Resource List on Jemima Boone
March
Desi Arnaz, Actor & Husband to Lucille Ball
Tuesday, March 10
Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television
Speaker: Author, Todd S. Purdum
Gertrude Bell, Adventurer
Thursday, March 12
Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia
Speaker: Author, Janet Wallach, in conversation with Nabil Al-Tikriti
John Hancock, Revolutionary Ringmaster
Tuesday, March 17
King Hancock: The Moderate Influence of a Radical Founding Father
Speaker: Author, Brooke Barbier
Also part of our VA250 program.
Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday, Pistol-Packing Pair
Thursday, March 19
Brothers of the Gun: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a Reckoning in Tombstone
Speaker: Author, Mark Lee Gardner
Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday Booklist
Resources List on Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday
