Hingham Historical Commission to Host Historian and Filmmaker Ken Burns at 2024 Virginia Tay Memorial Lecture Series
The Hingham Historical Commission is pleased to announce Ken Burns, renowned American historian and filmmaker as speaker at the 2024 Virginia Tay Memorial Lecture Series on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 2PM at the Old Ship Meeting House.
Burns is known for critically acclaimed presentations of American history through award winning films including The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), The National Parks (2009), and The Vietnam War (2017), among many others.
Burns’ Tay Lecture entitled “Mystical Chords of Memory,” and inspired by the dramatic summation of Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, will paint an intimate picture of the events of 1861 through 1865, and the Civil War’s relevance to Americans today.
Hingham resident James B. Conroy, winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize in 2017 for his book, Lincoln’s White House: The People’s House in Wartime, will moderate the discussion.
This event is free to attend and will be reserved seating only. To reserve a seat, please email taytwin@gmail.com. A return email confirming your reservation will serve as the admission ticket.
The Virginia Tay Memorial Lecture series is co-sponsored by the Hingham Historical Commission and Tay’s sister Mary Anne Donaldson, along with the Town of Hingham. Virginia Tay was active in all facets of historic preservation in Hingham. She served on various historically oriented entities, including as Chair of the Hingham Historical Commission, President of the Hingham Historical Society, and Chair of the Hingham Historic Districts Commission. Before her passing, Tay was planning a speaker series that would serve as an educational vehicle for interested South Shore residents. When Donaldson moved to Hingham in 2021, she continued the legacy of her sister’s mission.