Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Dr. Eric Foner will share newly discovered, detailed records of slave escapes through the Underground Railroad in a lecture at Oklahoma State University on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. in the Peggy Helmerich Browsing Room at the OSU Library.
Foner’s lecture, titled Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad, pulls from his recent book by the same name. His 2010 volume The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery won the Bancroft Prize, the Lincoln Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize for History.
“Eric Foner is one of the most influential, prolific, and thoughtful historians of the past 50 years,” Dr. Laura Belmonte, professor and Head of the Department of History at OSU, said. “He is one of the world’s preeminent authorities on Civil War and Reconstruction, slavery, and 19th Century American politics. We are truly honored to host him at OSU.”
One of only two persons to have served as president of the three major professional organizations (the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association, and Society of American Historians), Foner has published numerous books and written for many other well-known publications. He has become a popular guest on television and radio shows such as Charlie Rose, Book Notes, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Fresh Air, and All Things Considered. He was the on-camera historian for “Freedom: A History of Us,” on PBS in 2003.
The lecture, presented by the OSU Department of History, is free and open to the public.