Historical Commission

The 2022 Virginia Tay Memorial Lecture Series event, which featured presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, is now available to be viewed online.  Please follow this link to complete this form to register and receive access to the video.   Jon Meacham Video registration form

Meacham's lecture is entitled "The Soul of America," also the title of one of his bestselling books, published in 2018. He lectured on "Hope through History" with commentary about "The Soul of America" and "The Art of Leadership: Lessons from the American Presidency."

The Virginia Tay Memorial Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the Hingham Historical Commission and Mary Anne Donaldson, along with the Town of Hingham, is named in honor of Donaldson's late identical twin sister, Virginia Tay. Tay was active in all facets of historic preservation in Hingham.

When Tay moved to Hingham in the 1990s, she took an avid interest in restoring the 1822 country federal home she purchased. She served on various historically-oriented entities, including as Chairman of the Hingham Historical Commission, President of the Hingham Historical Society and Chairman of the Hingham Historic Districts Commission.

Before her passing, she was planning a speaker series that would serve as an educational vehicle for interested South Shore residents. When Donaldson relocated to Hingham in 2021, her first priority was to continue the legacy of her sister's mission, which was to enlighten community members with the ideas of great thinkers.