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Banner Lecture Series

The VHS hosts a number of noontime lectures that are open to the general public. Held in the Society's Robins Family Forum, the Banner Lecture series continues to be a highlight of the VHS calendar for many people. View a list of lectures

Lectures online

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Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture

The Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture was named in honor of the former president of the VHS (1989–91).The 2012 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecturer will be Mitchell Zuckoff. On April 5, 2012, Zukoff will deliver a talk on "Lost in Shangri-La: A Story of Survival and Rescue during World War II." Near the end of World War II, a plane carrying twenty-four members of the United States military, including nine Women’s Army Corps members, crashed into the New Guinea jungle. Three survivors were stranded deep in a jungle valley inhabited by cannibals. The story of their survival and the efforts undertaken to save them are the crux of Lost in Shangri-La. A riveting story of deliverance under the most unlikely circumstances, Mitchell Zuckoff’s book deserves its place among the great survival stories of World War II. Zuckoff teaches journalism at Boston University.

Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture

The first annual Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture took place on September 21, 2011. The 2012 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture will be Jeffry D. Wert. On May 17, 2012, Wert will deliver a talk on "Lee at His Zenith, 1862–63"

J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr., Lecture

The 2011 J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr., lecturerer was H. W. Brands. On October 6, Mr. Brands delivered a lecture entitled "The Triumph of Capitalism."

Alexander W. Weddell Trustees Lecture

The first annual Alexander W. Weddell Lecture took place in 1983 and was named in honor of Amb. Alexander Weddell, former president of the VHS. On November 16, 2011, Tony Horwitz delivered a talk on "Midnight Rising: John Brown, Harpers Ferry, and the Start of the Civil War."