Ben Franklin: An American Legacy

(Nov. 8, 2010) LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Rosalind Remer, former executive director of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, will share her insight into the life and times of one of America's great founding fathers.
When Nov 08, 2010
from 04:00 PM to 05:00 PM
Where Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville
Contact Name
Contact Phone 502-852-8811
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Leading Benjamin Franklin expert Rosalind Remer, PhD, will discuss how Franklin set out to write his memoirs but ended up penning the book that most readers around the world review as the quintessential American success story. In this free McConnell Center lecutre, Remer will highlight Franklin's classic autobiography and his reflections on philosophy, religion, politics, war, education, material success and the status of women, among other topics. The autobiography has never been out of print, has been translated into 28 languages and is the most widely-read memoir in the world.

Remer was the executive director of The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary from 2004 to 2008, a commission established by an Act of Congress in 2002 to study and recommend government programs to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth in 2006. The Tercentenary, a $12 million, multi-year initiative, produced the award-winning international traveling exhibition, "Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World."

"Dr. Remer is one of America's great students of the Founding period, and as the former executive assistant of The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary to celebrate the birth of Benjamin Franklin, we could not have a better speaker to remind us of the continuing relevance of one of the biggest lives America has ever produced," said Gary Gregg, director of the McConnell Center.

Remer has been a consultant to the National Constitution Center, the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Independence Visitor Center, Independence National and Historical Park and the U.S. Capitol Historical Museum, among several others. She was a professor of early American history for 14 years at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Penn. She holds a B.A. from University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in U.S. History from UCLA.

The free, public event will take place in the Chao Auditorium, located on the lower level of Ekstrom Library.