News Release

Richard Beeman, a scholar of Revolutionary-era America, will give the inaugural Patrick Henry Lecture at 4 p.m., on Thursday, Oct. 20, in Hodson Hall, Room 305, on The Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. The lecture is free and open to the public. For information, call (866) 628-9892.

The title of Beeman's lecture is "The Democratic Thought of Patrick Henry." Beeman has been on the faculty of the Department of History at University of Pennsylvania for 36 years. He has written five books and several dozen articles on aspects of America's political and constitutional history in the 18th and early 19th centuries. During his tenure at Penn, Beeman has served as chair of the Department of History, as an associate dean responsible for the humanities and social sciences departments, and as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1998-2003). He is currently vice-chair of the Academic Advisory Board and chair of the Program and Exhibits Committee of the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center. Beeman's teaching activities at Penn have covered U.S. history from the founding of the colonies up to the Civil War. A full bio is online at http://www.history.upenn.edu/faculty/beeman.htm.

The lecture is funded by a $1 million gift from Margaret Nuttle, a great-great-great granddaughter of Patrick Henry. Nuttle's gift will provide a post-doctoral fellowship, an undergraduate seminar, and an annual lecture, all focusing on pre-colonial or colonial history and featuring Patrick Henry. The widow of Philip E. Nuttle, a member of the Johns Hopkins University class of 1929, Margaret Nuttle hopes her gift to the university's departments of History and Political Science will promote a more balanced portrayal of Patrick Henry's life and times. She would also like to stimulate a resurgence in the teaching of American history and political science. A resident of Easton, Md., Nuttle has been an active member of the university community since her husband's death in December 1996. She has hosted several events for the dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the president of the university. She also helped establish the Class of 1929 Endowed Scholarship.