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.
Spring dates are below; please find the full line-up of dates and topics on our website (more lectures are added as they are confirmed!)
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…
Tuesday, April 22, 2025 – Music of the “Ancient and Honorable Tuesday Club of Annapolis” (1745-1756)
Annapolis wasn’t necessarily the most exciting place culturally in the middle of the 18th century, so a group of mostly Scottish immigrants decided to make things happen. They formed a gentlemen’s club, held bi-monthly meetings for over ten years, and left us with a rich and often comical account of their goings-on. Music (and also rum…
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 …
MAY
Elias Pollock and the Forgotten Jews of Early Maryland
One of Maryland few Jewish Revolutionary War veterans, Elias Pollock was a successful businessman in Baltimore during the early 1800s until his son-in-law bankrupted him. Over the course of his life, Pollock took great pains to identify himself as a Jew at a time when doing so was a political act. The story of Jewish…
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 – Walk Around Arundel: 52 Places to Hike with Your Dog (And other best friends)
Jefferson Holland will share some of his favorite places to explore in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County with notes from his book, “ Walk around Arundel: 52 places to hike with your dog (and other best friends)” – a collection of essays from his popular column in the Annapolis Capital. Food and drink suggestion: crab…
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)