MEMOIRS OF A JAUNT: PETER S. TOWNSEND AND THE NEW YORK LYCEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYWednesday, May 10, 7:00
Memoirs of a Jaunt: Peter S. Townsend and the New York Lyceum of Natural History: May-June 1817 Dr. Richard Harris celebrates the 200th anniversary of two scientific “jaunts” made by Peter S. Townsend of Oyster Bay in May and June of 1817. These expeditions, led by the renowned Columbia University professor Samuel Latham Mitchill, are recounted in a diary twenty-two-year-old Townsend kept, which is now in the Glen Cove Public Library’s Long Island History Collection. The account of these journeys not only conveys a sense of young Townsend’s excitement at what the expedition found but also reflects the fascination with natural history that swept the United States in the early 19th century. $10, NSHM members and students $5 Refreshments Served |