Minds on the Millennium lecture series will explore life and times of Napoleon

April 4, 2005

Lacey, Wash. – Napoleon Bonaparte: Was the French emperor a true military genius or just another ruthless dictator? During an April 14 Minds on the Millennium lecture, noted scholar and historian J. David Markham will present The Life and Times of Napoleon Bonaparte: His Loves, His Adventures, His Triumphs and His Mistakes.

Markham’s lecture will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Panorama City’s Quinault Auditorium, 1835 Circle Lane. The lecture series, sponsored by Saint Martin's College and Panorama City, is free and the public is invited to attend.

In this spirited, often humorous presentation, lecture-goers will learn everything they ever wanted to know about Napoleon. Was he the dreaded ‘Ogre of Corsica’ responsible for countless deaths in the so-called Napoleonic Wars? Or was he the spirit of enlightenment, a progressive force that swept away the regressive old regimes of Europe and laid the groundwork for the modern era, including the European Union? Did he divorce his great love, Josephine, to marry a younger woman, or was much more at stake?

In the end, was the world better or worse off having experienced Bonaparte?

Internationally acclaimed Napoleonic scholar, historian and lecturer J. David Markham is the author of “Napoleon's Road to Glory: Triumphs, Defeats and Immortality” and ”Imperial Glory: The Bulletins of Napoleon’s Grand Armee,” winner of the 2003 International Napoleonic Society “President’s Choice Award” for Napoleonic Literature. He has organized and/or lectured at International Napoleonic Society conferences in several countries, including the July 2005 conference in Dinard, France. In 1999, he was the first American scholar to present at the Borodino Conference in Russia. Markham has a personal Napoleonic library of some 1,000 volumes and a renowned collection of Napoleonic memorabilia.

The Minds on the Millennium lecture series started in 2000 to promote intellectual conversation and a lively exchange of ideas based on historical, philosophical and literary topics. For more information on Minds on the Millennium VI, please call the college at (360) 491-4700.

Richard Langill
Professor, political science
360-438-4588 or rlangill@stmartin.edu

Veronica Kessler
Minds on the Millennium co-director
Panorama City activities director
360-438-7557

Deanna Partlow, media relations coordinator
Saint Martin’s Office of Communication
360-438-4541 or dpartlow@stmartin.edu

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