Dr. Mary Beth Norton to Present at Drayton Hall Distinguished Speakers Series in March

Acclaimed Cornell University faculty member, Dr. Mary Beth Norton, will present the next installment in the 2014 Drayton Hall Distinguished Speakers Series.

Dr. Norton will be presenting her lecture “Beyond Boston: The Fate of the Seven Tea Ships of 1773.”

Dr. Norton is the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University, where she has taught since 1971. She has received four honorary degrees and has held fellowships from the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, Mellon, and Starr Foundations, as well as from Princeton University and the Huntington Library. She is currently working on a new book on the period immediately preceding the outbreak of fighting in the American Revolution. Known for her cutting-edge research and scholarship, spirited narratives, and ability to engage students of all ages, Dr. Norton will speak about her recent research into the Colonial Tea Party resistance movement.

Following on the heels of Michael Jarvis’ February presentation, which drew nearly 100 guests to a conversation about the connection between colonial Bermuda and the South Carolina Lowcountry, the Drayton Hall Distinguished Speakers Series complements the important work underway on site and has stimulated a dialogue about trade and the early years at Drayton Hall.

The spring 2014 series will conclude with an April 17th presentation by S. Max Edelson, University of Virginia, entitled Mapping Carolina:  Cartography and the Quest for Empire in the Colonial Southeast, a program generously underwritten by Richard and Jill Almeida. The fall 2014 series will bring another trio of notable speakers to Charleston on September 18th, October 16th, and November 20th.

Know Before You Go

All Drayton Hall Distinguished Speakers Series programs will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. and will be hosted by South Carolina Society Hall, 72 Meeting Street, downtown Charleston.

Doors will open by 6:30 p.m., seating is limited, and a dessert reception will follow. This program is free to Friends of Drayton Hall and their guests.

Please contact Steve Mount, Director of Philanthropy, at 843-769-2601 or smount@draytonhall.org with any questions.