Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum News


	For Immediate Release:	June 29, 2005
	ALPLM and UIS Announce Inaugural Jim Edgar Lecture Series Featuring Award Winning Author and Historian David McCullough SPRINGFIELD, IL., - The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, in partnership with the University of Illinois at Springfield, today announced the creation of the Jim Edgar Lecture Series with inaugural speaker David McCullough, prize winning author of several historical blockbusters such as Truman, John Adams, and 1776. "I can't imagine a better way to honor Jim Edgar, whose love of history is well known, than to launch a high profile lecture series in his name, featuring America's most admired historian, David McCullough," said Richard Norton Smith, Executive Director of the ALPLM. "From the outset we promised the people of Illinois world class programs to compliment the world class exhibits of the library and museum. And now, in partnership with the University of Illinois at Springfield, and thanks to the generous support of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, it is a promise we are keeping." "We are delighted that the presidential library invited us to be a partner in this lecture series," said Richard D. Ringeisen, Chancellor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. "Having David McCullough on the UIS campus will be a great honor for us, and we look forward to assisting Richard Norton Smith and his staff in staging a high-quality program. It's remarkable and exciting what the presidential library and museum has already done for our community." For over a decade former Governor Jim Edgar has been an integral part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. For the last year he has served as President of the Board of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, which supports temporary exhibits, conferences, lectures, educational and other programs at the recently opened library and museum. The Jim Edgar Lecture Series will be an annual event. The inaugural lecture will take place on October 24, 2005 in Sangamon Auditorium, to be followed by a brief book signing with David McCullough. A limited number of tickets will be available to the public for $10. Additional ticket information will be forthcoming. David McCullough, author of 1776, is twice winner of the National Book Award and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He has been called a "master of the art of narrative history." His books have been praised for their exceptional narrative sweep, their scholarship and insight into American life, and for their literary distinction. His John Adams, one of the most acclaimed American biographies ever published, hit the New York Times bestseller list at number one and remained on the list for more than a year. To date more than two million copies have been sold. His new book, 1776, published last month and already perched atop the New York Times bestseller list, tells the intensely human story of those who marched with George Washington in the fateful year of the Declaration of Independence. Mr. McCullough's books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path between the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, Brave Companions, and Truman. In a crowded, productive career, Mr. McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher, lecturer, and familiar presence on public television -- as host of Smithsonian World, The American Experience, and narrator of numerous documentaries including The Civil War and Napoleon. His is also the narrator's voice in Seabiscuit. "Few things in my professional life have given me as much pleasure as my involvement with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the University of Illinois," said former Governor Jim Edgar. "I am deeply honored by their creation of a lecture series in my name, and by the thought that one of our greatest living historians should agree to inaugurate that series this fall." ### << Back to Press Releases