Previous Events at the Ford Library and Museum

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Videos are not available for all events. The video will open in a new window. The videos are hosted on the YouTube web site. The Ford Library and Museum does not have official ties to YouTube and is not responsible for their content or for connectivity issues.



Notably Absent: Presidential No-Shows and Other Mishaps on Inauguration Day with Thomas Balcerski

January 2022

VIRTUAL -- Noted presidential historian and CNN contributor, Thomas Balcerski, explores the surprisingly numerous instances of presidential absence on Inauguration Day. Learn about the five presidents who failed to attend the inaugurations of their successors and the two presidents who did not participate for other reasons (hint: one of them involves Gerald Ford).

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Women in Uniform Exhibit Opening

January 2022

VIRTUAL -- Rear Admiral (retired) Samuel J. Cox, Director of Naval History and Heritage Command, and his colleague, Gale Munro, Curator of the Naval Art Gallery, virtually open the exhibit Women in Uniform.

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Harriet Woods Hill: Grand Rapids Police Department’s First African American Woman Officer

February 2022

VIRTUAL -- The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum along with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation celebrated Black History Month by learning about Michigan native Harriet Woods Hill. Ms. Woods Hill was the first African American woman police officer and the first woman detective in the Grand Rapids Police Department. James Hill shares highlights from his mother’s long and momentous life and career.


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Designing Camelot

March 2022

VIRTUAL-- Authors James Archer Abbott and Elaine Rice Bachmann discuss their book, Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration and Its Legacy. An illustrated chronicle of Jacqueline Kennedy’s restoration project, the book celebrates the sixty-year legacy of one of the most influential interior design endeavors in American history.


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The Second World War: Echoes from the Past, A Conversation with Sir Antony Beevor

March 2022

VIRTUAL-- The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation collaborated with Armed Forces Thanksgiving and the Western Michigan World Affairs Council to virtually host famed historian Sir Antony Beevor to discuss the legacies of World War II and its impact on our modern world. Sir Beevor began with an inclusive summary of the Second World War, delving into how various nations approached the war and its aftermath. He then discussed how the war affects our present-day and the ongoing situation in the Ukraine.


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Women in Uniform: My Career in the FBI: A conversation with Jacqueline Maguire

March 2022

VIRTUAL-- In conjunction with the exhibit "Women in Uniform" and Women's History Month, Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office shared stories from her over 20+ years in the FBI.


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Women in Uniform: Women Who Served

March 2022

VIRTUAL-- Colonel Bridget Brozyna, ret. U.S. Air Force, Lorrena Back, U.S. Army, and Sarah Anderson, U.S. Marine Corp, discussed their experiences as women in the military. This event was held in conjunction with the “Women in Uniform” exhibit.


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Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, with Mark Updegrove

May 2022

Grand Rapids-- The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Museum and Foundation welcomed noted historian Mark Updegrove discussed his book “Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency.”


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Not by Bread Alone: Why We Need Beauty, with Jeff Polet

May 2022

VIRTUAL-- - Jeff Polet, director of the Ford Leadership Forum opened the exhibit "Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition" a SEE Global exhibition.


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Michelangelo and the Art of Difficulty, with Henry Luttikhuizen

May 2022

Grand Rapids-- Henry Luttikhuizen examined Michelangelo’s preoccupation with difficulty and reconsider the relationship between physical exhaustion and intellectual agility in early sixteenth-century Italy. In conjunction with the exhibit “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.”


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The Fictive Architecture of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, with Duncan Stroik

May 2022

VIRTUAL-- In this lecture, Duncan Stroik took a closer look at the Sistine Chapel. How was Michelangelo influenced by the existing architecture of the chapel, and how did he add to it with the architectural elements in his frescoes?


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When Watergate Changed the World with Garrett Graff

June 2022

Grand Rapids-- Join the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Foundation as we explore the legacy of Watergate fifty years on. Garrett Graff discusses newly released documents regarding the events occurring that led to the Watergate scandal.


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The Ironies of Watergate and Three Presidencies with Tevi Troy

June 2022

Grand Rapids-- The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Foundation present the legacy of Watergate fifty years on. Join Tevi Troy’s retrospective of the events that occurred in 1972.


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The Crisis That Started It All: Watergate

July 2022

Grand Rapids-- Historian Richard Norton Smith and C-SPAN's Brian Lamb discuss the event coined "Watergate". The Watergate break-in sparked a series of events that, over the next 26 months, would propel an unassuming Midwesterner into the Oval Office. Our nation’s history and Gerald Ford’s life would never be the same.


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Unlocking the Secrets to the Sistine Chapel with Liz Lev

August 2022

Grand Rapids-- Elizabeth Lev traced the exciting historical context of the paintings of the Sistine Chapel. From its inauguration in 1480, the Sistine Chapel saw three major painting cycles over 70 years. The cycles corresponded to a major geopolitical shift—the discovery of the New World and circumnavigation of the globe—whose impact can be seen in the artwork.


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Russia: Revolution and Civil War with Sir Antony Beevor

October 2022

Virtual-- Sir Antony Beevor takes us back to 1917 when a devastating struggle took place in Russia following the collapse of the Tsarist empire. Many regard this savage civil war as the most influential event of the modern era.


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Watergate Girl with Jill Wine-Banks

October 2022

Virtual-- Discussing her book, "The Watergate Girl," Jill Wine-Banks will take us inside her trial-by-fire experience as a Watergate prosecutor and examine the legacy of Watergate fifty years on.


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