OPAL programs of interest

From Tom Peters:

Beginning this Sunday afternoon and running through early March the Henry Flagler Museum will offer a series of free online lectures via OPAL (www.opal-online.org). Sunday's lecture will be about P.T. Barnum, the legendary showman. On Feb. 1st a series of presentations will begin about sports legends of the Gilded Age.

Everyone is welcome to attend online. There is no need to register. Each presentation will last approximately one hour. See below for details. We plan to record these lectures, too, and add them to the OPAL Archive (http://www.opal-online.org/archive.htm)

These presentations also will be made in person at the Henry Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida. If you find yourself in or near Palm Beach sometime during the next three months (Don't we all wish for that?), you are welcome to attend these lectures in person. Please note that there is an admission fee to attend the in-person lectures, with refreshments. Attending online via OPAL is free, but you'll need to supply your own refreshments.

More information about the Barnum lecture can be found at http://www.flaglermuseum.us/html/p_t_barnum.html.

More information about the sports legends series is at http://www.flaglermuseum.us/html/lecture_series_2009.html

To learn more about all the upcoming OPAL online programs, please visit:

http://www.opal-online.org/progschrono.htm

To see a webpage of information and tips for first-time users of OPAL, please visit:

http://www.opal-online.org/firsttimetips.htm

Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, noon Pacific, and 8:00 p.m. GMT:

P.T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman Author Philip B. Kunhardt, III, will speak about his book, P.T. Barnum: America's Greatest Showman. Kunhardt will discuss the genius and vision of America's unmatched impresario and entrepreneur, P.T. Barnum. A man of complex motives, a master of merchandise, and inveterate self-promoter, Barnum was a brilliant businessman who had unbelievable perseverance, and a keen understanding of what would excite people’s interest. From humble beginnings, he struggled to become a legendary entertainment mogul. Sponsor: BNY Mellon Wealth Management Host: Henry Flagler Museum Location: Flagler OPAL Room

Sunday, February 1, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, noon Pacific, and 8:00 p.m. GMT:

"Major Taylor: The World's Fastest Human Being": A talk by Todd Balf Both a world and national champion, Marshall "Major" Taylor bicycled to glory on three continents. He set seven world record times on the track in 1898, before earning a world championship title 1899. His name ensured high profits as people flocked to see his incredible speed. Though he earned a substantial fortune he went on to many failed business ventures and even attempted to go to college, but was unbelievably denied entry. He died in a Chicago charity ward in 1932 at age 54, a forgotten and broken man buried in an unmarked grave. A surprising resurgence of interest in his life has led to multiple memorials and sports organizations rallying to secure Major Taylor’s place in American Sports history. Todd Balf, a former senior editor for Outside magazine, has profiled the iconic personalities in pro bicycle racing for numerous national magazines, including Men’s Journal, ESPN The Magazine, andBicycling. He is the author of The Last River and The Darkest Jungle.The theme of the 24th annual Whitehall Lecture Series is Sports Legends of the Gilded Age. The Series presents expert scholars, authors, and speakers from prominent museums, universities, and cultural institutions from around the world. The 2009 Whitehall Lecture Series is sponsored by the National City Private Client Groupand The Palm Beach Post. Host: Henry Flagler Museum Location: Flagler OPAL Room

Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, noon Pacific, and 8:00 p.m. GMT:

"John L. Sullivan: The World’s First Gloved Heavyweight Champion": A Talk by Adam Pollack John L. Sullivan, nicknamed the Boston Strong Boy, was the World's First Heavyweight Champion when fighting was bare-knuckle and regulated under the brutal London Prize Ring rules. Sullivan’s prowess and panache were legendary. At five feet eleven inches and 220 pounds, he fought hard, and he drank hard. Sullivan was the last bare-knuckle champion, and the first one to use gloves after a highly publicized, 75 round fight, against Jake Kilrain 1889. The Kilrain bout helped steer boxing towards the Marquess-of-Queensbury rules, which are still evident in boxing today. The big differences were the use of padded boxing gloves and timed limited rounds. His charisma and popular appeal during this transitional period contributed greatly to making boxing a nationally popular, “legitimate” sport. Sullivan became boxing’s first superstar and arguably the first of any sport. Upon retirement he gave up alcohol and smoking and tried to maintain his life as a good role model for young men and sportsmen. Author Adam J. Pollack is not only involved in boxing as a coach and writer, but is also chair of USA Boxing's Judicial Committee, chair of USA Boxing's Rules and Regulations Committee, a member of its Women’s Task Force, and a certified official, judging and refereeing amateur bouts. The theme of the 24th annual Whitehall Lecture Series is Sports Legends of the Gilded Age. The Series presents expert scholars, authors, and speakers from prominent museums, universities, and cultural institutions from around the world. The 2009 Whitehall Lecture Series is sponsored by the National City Private Client Groupand The Palm Beach Post. Host: Henry Flagler Museum Location: Flagler OPAL Room

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, noon Pacific, and 8:00 p.m. GMT

"Crazy '08: The Greatest Year in Baseball History": A Talk by Cait Murphy Often regarded as the greatest season for pennant races in baseball history, the antics of the 1908 season is full of iconic performances by baseball's first generation of heroes. Honus Wagner may have the best season of the century. Ty Cobb would kick, snarl, and manhandle the Tigers into contention; Cy Young, the only man with more than five hundred wins, has his last good season, Shoeless Joe Jackson would play for five games, and decide it wasn't for him. Beyond the legend making games there was corruption, greed, stupidity and downright weirdness that makes today's sport of sanctimony and clean behavior look boring. It isn’t surprising that 1908 is considered the year that baseball came of age. From the colorful heroes it produced to being remembered as the last year the Chicago Cubs went to the World Series, only to have a game considered a tie after riots left two people dead. The era's brawling, vivid ugliness, and plain bizarre moments led Fortune magazine editor Cait Murphy to pen "Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History." Her book has been hailed in publications nationwide, from Sports Illustrated to theChicago Tribune. It got a glowing review by political columnist George Will in The New York Times. Murphy has also written for theEconomist magazine and the Wall Street Journal. The theme of the 24th annual Whitehall Lecture Series is Sports Legends of the Gilded Age. The Series presents expert scholars, authors, and speakers from prominent museums, universities, and cultural institutions from around the world. The 2009 Whitehall Lecture Series is sponsored by the National City Private Client Groupand The Palm Beach Post. Host: Henry Flagler Museum Location: Flagler OPAL Room

Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, noon Pacific, and 8:00 p.m. GMT:

"The Wonder Crew: The Untold Story of a Coach, Navy Rowing, and Olympic Immortality": A Talk by Susan Saint Sing Coach Richard Glendon led a humble Annapolis rowing team to victory against illustrious Ivy League teams, and broke the class barrier in a sport dominated by the privileged. After the miraculous victory, the U.S. Naval Academy team won a shot at the Olympics. Their mission: to defeat the British Navy, whose supremacy of the seas for hundreds of years naturally made them the dominant rowing team. With the hopes of a nation, Annapolis went into the heart of Europe and in thrilling fashion defeated the heavily-favored Brits to win the gold medal in 1920. With Glendon's new American style, the U.S. won Gold for forty straight years, the longest winning streak in any single sport in Olympic history. Susan Saint Sing has participated and coached rowing, and was a member of the 1993 U.S. World Rowing Team. She is the author ofThe Wonder Crew: The Untold Story of a Coach, Navy Rowing, and Olympic Immortality. The theme of the 24th annual Whitehall Lecture Series is Sports Legends of the Gilded Age. The Series presents expert scholars, authors, and speakers from prominent museums, universities, and cultural institutions from around the world. The 2009 Whitehall Lecture Series is sponsored by the National City Private Client Groupand The Palm Beach Post. Host: Henry Flagler Museum Location: Flagler OPAL Room

Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, noon Pacific, and 8:00 p.m. GMT:

"Golf's Golden Age: The Legendary Players of the 10s and 20s": A Talk by Dr. Rand Jerris The golden age of American golf featured the sport's greatest players at the peak of their careers. Legends such as Bob Jones, Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen, and Glenna Collett intersected with mass media to generate massive exposure for the game, and established the gentlemen's game as a major American pastime. Few came to define the golden age of sports more than Bob Jones, whose skill, grace, and integrity captured the nation¹s imagination. The legendary amateur from Atlanta, Georgia, rallied a gallery of 18,000 to watch him take on Eugene Humans in the 36-hole U.S. Open. In 1930, Bobby Jones captured golf¹s greatest achievement, the Grand Slam, by winning the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur, U.S. Open and British Open Championships in a single season, an unprecedented and unmatched feat in the history of the game. Dr. Rand Jerris is the Director of the United States Golf Association Museum, and author of Golf¹s Golden Age: Bobby Jones and the Legendary Players of the 10s, 20s, and 30s. He holds a B.A and M.A. from Williams College, and a Ph.D. in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University. The theme of the 24th annual Whitehall Lecture Series is Sports Legends of the Gilded Age. The Series presents expert scholars, authors, and speakers from prominent museums, universities, and cultural institutions from around the world. The 2009 Whitehall Lecture Series is sponsored by the National City Private Client Groupand The Palm Beach Post. Host: Henry Flagler Museum Location: Flagler OPAL Room