Includes a pre-talk reception with a chance to meet the speaker.
Reception begins at 5:30 PM. Beer, wine, and light hors d’oeuvres.
Doors open at 6:30 PM for seating | Talk starts promptly at 7:00 PM
Born in Wisconsin, Jon Kukla completed his undergraduate studies at Carthage College and his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, where he focused on early American, British, and Canadian history. He was an assistant director of the Library of Virginia in the 1970s and 80s, then directed the Historic New Orleans Collection in the 1990s; and directed the transformation of Red Hill–The Patrick Henry National Memorial in Charlotte County, Virginia, from 2000 to 2007. Kukla has published dozens of articles and reviews in professional journals during the past half century, perhaps most notably “Order and Chaos in Early America” in The American Historical Review (1985). His recent books aspire to present first-rate historical scholarship accessible for general readers – books, as another scholar put it, “that working historians have to read and the general public wants to read.” He is currently reassessing the origins of the American Revolution in a book entitled Rehearsal for Revolution: The Stamp Act Rebellion, 1764-1766.
Kukla’s Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty (Simon & Schuster, 2017) is both the definitive biography of Henry and a sweeping reconsideration of the Revolution in Virginia. It won the Slatten Award for Biography from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and was a finalist for the distinguished George Washington Prize as well as the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award. His previous books include Mr. Jefferson's Women (Knopf, 2007) and A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America (Knopf, 2003) – a Book-of-the-Month and History Book Club selections.
Kukla has enjoyed research fellowships at the British Museum, the Virginia Historical Society, and the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. He was a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians, and in 2006 was elected to membership in the prestigious American Antiquarian Society.
House Rules for Historic St. John’s Church
We encourage masks but they are no longer required.
Seating is first come, first served. Tickets are required.
There is no food, drink, gum, candy, strollers, backpacks or firearms permitted inside the church.
Bags larger than 16 x 16 x 8 are prohibited inside the church. Any and all bags are subject to inspection. Please leave backpacks and bags inside your vehicle as we have no place to store them.
