MakingHistoryGala_logo_2026_yellow feather for web.png

April 23, 2026

Fairmont Copley Plaza
138 St. James Ave. | Boston

6:00 PM Cocktail Reception
7:00 PM Dinner Program

Featuring

Ken Burns

Award-winning filmmaker

 

The Making History Gala is an unforgettable and festive evening of lively conversation, storytelling, dining, and more. The Gala celebrates the MHS’s commitment to collecting and sharing more than four centuries of American stories. Proceeds support the Society’s educational initiatives, including National History Day, the History Source, and civics education.
 

Questions can be directed to development@masshist.org

Business or cocktail attire

 

Ken Burns

Ken Burns PHOTO CREDIT Evan Barlow (2018) for web.jpg

Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years.  Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks:  America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts:  An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; and, most recently, Leonardo da Vinci.

Future film projects include The American Revolution, Emancipation to Exodus, and LBJ & the Great Society, among others.

Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations.  In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award.  In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Photo by Evan Barlow.
 

Sponsors

Premier

Rob and Jennifer Waldron

Signature

Benjamin C. and Jennifer B. Adams
Elizabeth Chang and Joseph Wallace
Michael and Laurie Ewald
G. Marshall and Nina Moriarty
Tom and Lynn Paine
Richard N. and Allene Pierson
Laura Selene Rockefeller
Paul and Mary Beth Sandman
Andy Sewer and Puiking Hui
Christopher Toomey

Benefactor

Susan and James F. Hunnewell, Jr.
Amanda Clark MacMullan and Russell MacMullan
Sharlyn and Robert Musslewhite
Lia G. and William J. Poorvu
Jim and Mimi Segel

Patron

Elizabeth and Oliver Ames, Jr.
Katherine Babson, Jr.
Gavin P. Jones
John O'Leary and Sarah Britton
Russell and Zibby Pyle
Robert G. Ripley
Matthew Scholder
Ann Spruill

 

Gala Committee

Co-Chairs

Rob and Jennifer Waldron

Committee Members

Oliver Ames 
Levin H. Campbell, Jr.
Patricia and Stephen Chubb 
Karilyn Crockett
Lawrence DiCara
Gregory Groover Sr.
Susan Hunnewell 
Candace Jans 
Gavin P. Jones 
David Kirk 
Sharlyn Musslewhite
Laura Selene Rockefeller 
James Segel 
Andrew Serwer 
Christopher Toomey 
Christian and Sophie Westra 
 

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