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An evening with Michael Burlingame

Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies

The University of Illinois at Springfield

April 1, 2011, The Inn at Middletown 

Michael Burlingame, the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield and one of the foremost scholars of Abraham Lincoln, lectured at a reception being held to raise funds for the Society's Capital and Endowment Campaign. 

Professor Burlingame is the author of Abraham Lincoln: A Life, a two volume biography of our Nation's 16th President.  Doris Kearns Goodwin noted that “Lincoln scholars have waited anxiously for this book for decades. Few scholars have written with greater insight about the psychology of Lincoln. No one in recent history has uncovered more fresh sources than Burlingame. This profound and masterful portrait will be read and studied for years to come."  

Time Magazine called Professor Burlingame "a towering figure in Lincoln scholarship" and describes the book "as close to being the definitive biography as anything the world has seen in decades."

In his talk entitled "Abraham Lincoln: New Sources, Fresh Perspectives," Professor Burlingame explored the new sources of information he used and analyze how that information led to changes in the public's perception of Lincoln.

105 guests attended the lecture and dessert reception which followed. Several sponsors had the opportunity to meet Professor Burlingame before the lecture and tour the Society's exhibit "Hard & Stirring Times: Middletown and the Civil War" at the Mansfield House. 

Thanks so much to everyone who attended!  And a special thanks to our sponsors:

Abraham Lincoln sponsors

Deborah D. Shapiro

Wesleyan University

Ulysses S. Grant sponsor

Webster Bank

Gideon Wells sponsors

Colebrook Financial

The Inn at Middletown

General Joseph Mansfield sponsors

Richard and Alexandra Adelstein

Victor and Marj Adler

Dr. Kenneth and Priscilla Eckhart

Dr. David Miner and Penny Robiner

Frank and Katherine Ryczek

Read Cassandra Day's article on the event in the Middletown Patch:  http://bit.ly/gFP8w1

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