Living Room Learning Lecture by Ryan Cole (Week 4)

Ryan L. Cole speaks at McElreath Hall on Monday, February 15, 2027, as part of the Living Room Learning series. His talk is titled Memories of the Revolution Have Come Back to Life: Lafayette's Return Journey to America, and it centers on the summer of 1824, when the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States after forty years away. He was an old man by then, and he spent that summer visiting every single state to enthusiastic crowds.

Cole knows the subject well. He wrote The Last Adieu: Lafayette's Triumphant Return, the Echoes of Revolution, and the Gratitude of the Republic, which covers this exact trip, and Light-Horse Harry Lee: Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero. His writing has appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and he's spoken at George Washington's Mount Vernon and the Library of Congress.

The talk is part of Living Room Learning, which is back for its 58th year. It started with a group of Sweet Briar College alumnae—Atlanta women who held classes in their living rooms after graduating. The series grew from twelve women to hundreds of people before it needed a formal lecture hall. The Atlanta History Center took over as the host venue in 2013 and coordinates it now, offering university-level lectures on history, art, literature, and more, with no final exam required.

Cole's talk is the fourth in the series. The full seven-lecture package was $150 for non-members and $130 for members and insiders, and it's already sold out. The lecture is at 2 PM, with doors opening at 1:30 PM, at McElreath Hall inside the Atlanta History Center, 130 W Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA 30305.