Conference Announcement


           THOMAS A. EDISON SESQUICENTENNIAL CONFERENCE
                      "INTERPRETING EDISON"

                         June 25-27, 1997

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of Thomas A. Edison's birth, the
National Park Service, Organization of American Historians and New Jersey
Studies Academic Alliance are pleased to announce a three-day conference,
"Interpreting Edison."  This conference, which will be held June 25-27, 1997 at
Rutgers University-Newark and the Edison National Historic Site, will examine
the interpretation of Edison's life and work in academic scholarship, at museums
and historic sites, and in the classroom.

Scholars from the United States, Canada and Europe will present new research on
Edison's role as inventor, business leader and cultural figure.  Representatives
from five major U.S. Edison-related sites will discuss their interpretative and
museum management programs.  There will also be a series of sessions designed to
help teachers integrate Edison-related themes into the history curriculum.

In the opening session, distinguished historians Ruth S. Cowan, David Nye,
Thomas Schlereth, John M. Staudenmeier and Alan Trachtenberg will offer their
insights on Edison's place in American history.

Other highlights of the conference include a virtual tour of Edison's
reconstructed Menlo Park Laboratory at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn,
Michigan; lunch on the grounds of Edison's estate, Glenmont; and a demonstration
of the Library of Congress early motion picture webpage. Edison descendant and
University of New Haven professor David Edison Sloane will speak about the
Edison family at the conference banquet.

For more information about the conference, or registration details, please
contact:

               Leonard DeGraaf
               Edison National Historic Site
               Main Street and Lakeside Avenue
               West Orange, New Jersey 07052
               201-736-0550, ext. 22
               Internet: [log in to unmask]