Events

Command & Courage: Oliver Hazard Perry

Symposium August 13 and 14

Join us for a 2-day symposium August 13 and 14 on the campus of Gannon University for a series of discussions by noted Oliver Hazard Perry historians.

August 13: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

August 14: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This includes breakfast and lunch

Our audience will learn about Perry and what made him the person he was. The event will offer a deep, multidimensional look at the man whose leadership helped secure the United States’ control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.

Discover how Perry’s leadership, at just 28 years old, shaped the nation’s expansion into the Upper Midwest and helped define the emerging identity of the early U.S. Navy.

Speakers include: 

Douglas Brinkley, PhD, renowned American historian, author, and professor at Rice University

Christopher Havern, PhD, Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) historian

Matthew C. Perry, PhD, lecturer named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry direct descendant of Oliver Hazard Perry

Craig Symonds, MA, lecturer and American naval historian and visiting professor at the Naval War College

Walter Rybka, author and former administrator at the Erie Maritime Museum and former senior captain of the the Niagara

This is a 2-day event. There are no single-day tickets. Tickets: $10 for Hagen History Center members and $20 for nonmembers. 

Thanks to our sponsors: Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority, PNC Bank, and the Jefferson Educational Society.