Speaker: Douglas L. Wilson, Knox College

Douglas L. Wilson, the George A. Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus and Co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College will open the Newberry's two Lincoln exhibitions with a lecture on how Lincoln used words--in his public speeches, private correspondence, jokes, and stories--to persuade, disarm, criticize, comfort, inspire, and lead a nation.

How did the folksy, self-educated "rail-splitter" become one of America's most eloquent and powerful writers? A question and answer period with the audience will follow the program.