Betsy K. McCreight Lecture in the Humanities
For over four decades, the Council's annual McCreight Lecture has connected West Virginia audiences to some of the nation's premier public intellectuals.
2026 Speaker
RICK ATKINSON
Capitol Theater, Charleston, October 15, 7:30 pm
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, widely considered to be the nation's "birthday," the West Virginia Humanities Council is honored to host our distinguished speaker, historian and author Rick Atkinson.
The Speaker
Rick Atkinson is a best-selling author, three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and former Washington Post journalist. He is the author of the New York Times best-selling The British Are Coming, the first volume of his acclaimed Revolution Trilogy, which has earned numerous honors including the George Washington Prize and the New-York Historical Society’s Zalaznick Book Prize. The second volume in the trilogy, The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777–1780, continues the sweeping narrative of the American Revolution, capturing the conflict’s critical middle years with vivid storytelling and deep historical insight. Atkinson also serves as a historical advisor for Ken Burns’ PBS documentary series The American Revolution, which commemorates the Revolution’s 250th anniversary.
For more information on Rick Atkinson, please visit https://rickatkinson.com/
The Venue
The event will be held at the historic Capitol Theater, at 123 Summers Street in the heart of downtown Charleston.
123 Summers Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Click "Capitol Theater" for GoogleMaps
About the McCreight Lecture
The Board of Directors of the West Virginia Humanities Council established the annual McCreight Lecture in the Humanities to honor the leadership of Betsy Keadle McCreight, who died in 1985. McCreight was a founding board member, serving the Council as treasurer, vice president, and president. She believed that the humanities were at the heart of a democratic society, a necessary source of wisdom and vision.
Presented each October, the McCreight Lecture affords West Virginians the opportunity to hear nationally respected scholars and public intellectuals on a variety of humanities topics. McCreight Lecturers have included Ken Burns, Joyce Carol Oates, Percival Everett, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joseph Ellis, Sylvia Nasar, Henry Louis Gates, Elaine Pagels, Gordon Wood, James McPherson, Edmund Morris, and Annette Gordon-Reed.
Admission to the McCreight Lectures is always free and open to the public.
