A talk by Dr. Wendy L. Rouse on her book 'Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement' in which she explores the the important role of queerness and queer suffragists in the fight for the vote. The traditional narrative of suffrage history sanitized the lives of suffragists contributing to the historical erasure of the queer history of the movement. Yet, it was often their very queerness that helped propel the movement forward.
Read MoreA talk by Dana Pilson on the remarkable career of sculptor Daniel Chester French. While most well-known for his statue of the Minute Man for Concord and the colossal seated Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, French sculpted almost one hundred other monuments and memorials throughout the country. The Boston area is especially rich with outdoor, public works by French, and three notable ones can be found in Forest Hills Cemetery.
Read MoreProfessor Paul Burlin, the author of the new book Charles F. Dole, Liberal Theology and Reform: A Life Well-Lived provides a talk about this remarkable clergyman who was at the First Church in Jamaica Plain, Unitarian Universalist for 40 years.
Read MoreElizabeth Curry Moloney was a Bostonian who fought for the rights of women and children throughout her life. She was appointed as the first Supervisor of Mother’s Aid for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a position she held until she retired in 1943 at the age of 70. After retirement she moved to 49 Prince Street, where she lived until her death in 1950.
Read MoreA talk focusing on the remarkable achievements of sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman, the only female student and assistant in the studio of Daniel Chester French. The two artists shared a close professional and personal relationship and the presentation highlights the many intersections and cross-currents between their works, including the exquisite Slocum Memorial in Forest Hills Cemetery.
Read MoreA talk entitled Historic Images of James Michael Curley and His Family which was a joint presentation by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and the JPHS. Video of an event that was held via Zoom on November 11, 2021.
Read MoreA talk entitled The Legacy of Pauline Agassiz Shaw which was given as part of the Lowell Lecture Series at the Paul Revere House. Video of an event that was held via Zoom on October 12, 2021.
Read MoreDr. Mary Morey Pearson was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1885. She lived at 45 Eliot Street from 1910 to the end of her life (1931). She worked as the Medical Director for the American Benefit Society for much of her career and was an advocate for homeopathic medicines. It’s thought she had a medical practice at her home.
Read MoreThe Q&A session that came after the film screening of Borderland: The Life and Times of Blanche Ames Ames. Video of an event that was held via Zoom on June 5, 2021.
Read MoreAaron Schmidt, the Curator of Photographs for the Boston Public Library’s Special Collections speaks about Leon Abdalian. The photographer Leon Hampartzoum Abdalian was born in 1884 in what was Cilician Armenia, then located in the Ottoman Empire (now modern Turkey). He migrated with his family to the United States in April of 1896 and they eventually settled in JP. It is believed that he was largely self-taught as a photographer. For most of the time he was photographing (1913 -1967) he also worked full-time as a conductor on the Boston Elevated Railway.
This program was supported by a grant from the Bridge Street Fund, a special initiative of Mass Humanities. Photograph collection at the Digital Commonwealth.The event was held on April 25, 2021 at 2:00 p.m via Zoom.
Read MoreDr. Heather Clark discusses her acclaimed biography Red Comet: the Blazing Path and Brief Life of Sylvia Plath. Heather talks about her motivation for undertaking this book and the journey she took while writing it. After that, she takes questions from the audience.
Read MoreSusan Dimock was among the first female physicians in the US recognized as a surgeon. Apprenticed at the age of 18 to Dr. Marie Zakrzewska at the New England Hospital for Women and Children, Susan was recognized as exceptionally talented. In September of 1873, a seven-year-old girl from Nantucket was admitted to the NEHWC with a large tumor. Using ether as anesthetic, Dr. Dimock performed an operation to remove the tumor.
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