By Dan Hinchen

After a lack of programming last week, we are back this week with a slew of public events to satisfy your hunger for history. Be sure to keep an eye on our monthly calendar in the coming weeks as April has a lot going on! Here’s what’s on as we leave March behind:

– Tuesday,  29 March, 5:15PM : The War on Butchers: San Francisco and the Making of Animal Space, 1850-1870, is a part of the Immigration and Urban History Seminar series. In this paper, Andrew Robichaud of Boston University examines some of the challenges of urban animal life (and death) in cities, while tracing the evolution of animal regulations in San Francisco between 1850 and 1870. Harriet Ritvo of MIT provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wednesday, 30 March, 12:00PM : Pack a lunch and come in at noon to hear Margaret Newell, Ohio State University, talk about her current research project, “William and Ellen Craft and the Transatlantic Battle for Civil Rights in the Nineteenth Century,” a dramatic story of escape from slavery in Georgia on to a life of anti-slavery activism in Boston and London. This Brown Bag talk is free and open to the public, no registration required. 

– Wednesday, 30 March, 6:00PM : Join us for a public author talk presented by Andrew Lipman of Barnard College, recipient of a 2016 Bancroft Prize. The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast examines the previously untold story of how the ocean became a “frontier” between colonists and Indians. Registration is required for this event with a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Members and Fellows). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM.

– Friday, 1 April, 2:00PM : Stop by the MHS at 2:00PM for a free gallery talk, “Jefferson and Slavery.” Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence, yet he also owned people as slaves. His experimental farm and garden and his architectural tests were made possible through the uncompensated labor of hundreds. While Jefferson and slavery is not the primary focus of our exhibition, it is present in every room. The curator of the show ,Peter Drummey, will explore this subject.

There is no public tour scheduled for Saturday, 2 April. Please check back next week!