As the leading nonprofit preservation and history organization in Annapolis, MD, Historic Annapolis strives to offer informative and engaging lectures that promote the organization’s legacy in the history of preservation of Maryland’s capital city.
Historic Annapolis is pleased to announce the 2025 Virtual Lecture Series
Please join HA for one – or all – of our world-class virtual lectures, being offered free of charge in 2025 thanks to a generous anonymous donor.
Connect with the amazing history of Annapolis and our nation as we welcome a great lineup of professors, writers, poets, and historians.
Winter dates are below; please find the full line-up of dates and topics on our website (more lectures are added as they are confirmed!)
JANUARY
Tuesday January 14 – A Brief Outline of Annapolis History with historian Glenn E. Campbell
The 2025 Virtual Lecture Series kicks off with one of our most popular lecturers, renowned historian Glenn Campbell! Annapolis has a lengthy, complicated history, and rich history. Gaining a firm understanding of it can be challenging. Glenn E. Campbell, HA’s retired Senior Historian, breaks down the history of Maryland’s capital city into bite-sized, thematic blocks…
Tuesday, January 21 – The World of 1492 with University of Maryland historian Dr. Richard Bell
Let’s begin at the beginning. But where is that exactly? The history of North America doesn’t begin in 1492 when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. It begins millennia before then when the first humans settled this great continent. Who were those first settlers—the people we now call Native Americans?
Tuesday, January 28 – Orlando Ridout V Memorial Lecture (virtual encore of live lecture) with historian Carl R. Lounsbury
Historic Annapolis and the Maryland Historical Trust invite you to attend the virtual encore of our 2024 Orlando Ridout V Memorial Lecture. The lecture is free, however reservations are required. Donations are appreciated to support this lecture series! We are pleased to welcome Carl R. Lounsbury, Adjunct Associate Professor of History at William and Mary…
FEBRUARY
Join Frederick Douglass to learn about his escape from slavery and his rise to become one of the greatest Abolitionists in the 19th Century. Hear Mr. Douglass talk about his relationships with William Lloyd Garrison, Susan B Anthony, and Harriet Tubman, as well as Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, Grant and Haynes and more …
Why did the English come to America? By 1592, a century after Columbus first claimed parts of America for the Spanish monarchy, the growing size and wealth of Spain’s overseas empire had begun to make other European powers jealous. In England, Queen Elizabeth I began soliciting plans from the country’s venture capitalists …
MARCH
Women played a crucial role in the printing industry in the American colonies, particularly in Maryland. Dr. Amy Rosenkrans will discuss the importance of those women with a focus on Ann Catharine Hoof Green of Annapolis and Mary Katherine Goddard of Baltimore. Diane Rey, HA Volunteer, joins the discussion while presenting her living history interpretation…
“They have done all that can be expected of them.” Join historian Owen Lourie to discover the lives and legacy of the Maryland Line, which bore heavy casualties at the Battle of Camden and throughout the Southern Campaign (1780-1783). Many of these Maryland soldiers were experienced veterans who enlisted in the earliest days of the war.…
Everyone knows suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. But who is familiar with the women who fought for the right to vote in Maryland? In Anne Arundel County? Emphasis will be placed on events that happened in Annapolis and the women residents of the city who participated in the movement.
The new Poet Laureate of Annapolis, Jefferson Holland, shares original epic poems and songs of the characters, events and especially the traditional vessels that make the capital of Maryland such an inspirational place.
The William Paca House has sheltered many people and served many functions since the 1760s. It was home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence, aristocratic refugees from war-torn Europe, and a Navy widow whose sons-in-law fought on opposite sides in the Civil War. It was part of a hotel …
How and why did slavery begin in North America? It’s an incredibly important question, as America’s embrace of racial slavery as a major labor system is an event which has colored the development of this continent ever since. How were traditional practices of enslavement in Africa and Europe similar to and different…
Join Nathan M. Richardson as Frederick Douglass for an in-depth look at the writings and oratory of Frederick Douglass. Experience this internationally-acclaimed first person interpretation. See the 19th century literary masters through the eyes of Frederick Douglass. Learn about the personal relationships, the letters between them and the influenced their writings and activism …
Can’t watch live? All lectures will be recorded. Please register and you’ll receive the link to watch the recording after the event.
Time: 7 pm (ET) (pre-registration required; registration closes at 6:30 pm)