Galveston Chronicles
Dr. Donald Willett, Associate Professor in the Maritime Studies Program at Texas A&M University at Galveston, will join us for our September Meet & Greet. Dr. Willett served as editor and contributor to this new book of essays on island history.
Saturday, September 21st, 2013
2:00 to 4:00 pm
Subtitled “The Queen City of the Gulf,” Galveston Chronicles is a collection of historical essays on the island city’s history. Named for Bernardo de Galvez and established in 1839, Galveston measures just over two hundred square miles. In early Texas history, however, it was actually the largest city in the Lone Star State, as well as a hugely important port that would become a strategic target during the Civil War. The Oleander City survived the depredations of war and flourished, a resilience it would also display in the wake of the devastating hurricane of 1900. From early cannibals and pirates to the woman suffrage movement and Nazi POWs, Galveston’s amazing story continues to evolve today. Join thirteen of Texas’s most noted scholars and historians as they share this remarkable island history.
Contributors include Donald Willett, Patricia Bellis Bixel, Chester Burns, Gary Cartwright, Margaret Henson, Arnold Krammer, David McComb, Bill O’Neal, Merline Pitre, Robert Shelton, Edward Simmen, Elise Hopkins Stephens and Larry Wygant. The book is available now, soft cover, $21.99.
Dr. Willett received his BA in History from St. Edwards University in 1972, his MA in history from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1976 and his PhD in American history from Texas A&M University in 1985. His areas of research include United States maritime history and Texas history. He is a past-president of the East Texas Historical Association and is on the Board of Directors of the Gulf South Historical Association. His area of research focuses on United States maritime labor history, so he would like to contact Mexican scholars who focus on Mexican maritime labor and share research. Dr. Donald Willett teaches American History, American Civil War and Reconstruction, Texas History, and History of American Seapower.
UPDATE: some photos from the event:
