Fall Lecture: Jim Johnston Maryland's Gift to the Nation: A Capital City

Jim Johnston, Maryland’s Gift to the Nation: A Capital City
Friday, October 23
1:30-2:30 PM
In-Person at OLLI

Major cities have founding myths. Washington, D.C., too, has its myth: that a worthless swamp was chosen for the capital because it was near George Washington’s Mount Vernon. In fact, the District of Columbia was selected as a compromise between northern and southern states and because Georgetown was expected to become a major commercial hub and gateway to the interior. The vision was not a swampy wasteland but a stunning federal city, modeled on Versailles and supplied with abundant fresh water.

Jim Johnston is a retired lawyer and an active writer and lecturer in Bethesda. His law practice covered telecommunications, intellectual property, and appellate litigation. Jim has more than 120 newspaper and magazine articles to his credit on topics such as law, history, art, terrorism, and books. He has written four books: From Slave Ship to Harvard, Yarrow Mamout and the History of an African American Family; Murder, Inc., The CIA under John F. Kennedy; The War Story of Harold Johnston; and The Recollections of Margaret Loughborough, A Southern Woman’s Memories of Richmond, VA, and Washington, DC, during the Civil War.

Reservations are required to attend in-person lectures. This lecture will be held in the Spring Valley Building, 4801 Massachusetts Ave. NW, in Room A on the First Floor. You must have an OLLI account to register. If you do not have one, you can create an account when going to register. Each registrant may reserve up to two seats. Your name must be on the list of registrants to enter the lecture and you must be in your seat five minutes before the lecture starts to guarantee your seat.