NJHN June Program with Dr. Brian Regal: Waiting for Columbus: Who Really Discovered America?

This month’s speaker is Dr. Brian Regal, with a talk titled Waiting for Columbus: Who Really Discovered America?

This presentation is not about Christopher Columbus or who really discovered America. It is about those who think they know who really discovered America, and how this seemingly innocuous idea has its origins in the darker aspects of American history. The presentation explores the many myths surrounding the discovery of America by a cast that includes Portuguese fishermen, Welsh princes, Vikings, African explorers, and a host of others. It focuses on the actions of a collection of quirky, obsessed, driven, investigators who spent their lives trying to prove their various theories. These theories often drew upon racist, nationalistic, and bigoted concepts. It is topical considering the recent media frenzy over illegal immigrants, the nature of citizenship, racial and religious bigotry, the removal of Columbus statues, White Supremacy, and the twisting of legends into facts and facts into nonsense.

Dr. Brian Regal is Associate Professor of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine at Kean University, New Jersey, where he teaches classes on science and medical history as well as pseudoscience, alchemy, and book history. He is the author of numerous books, articles, and op-ed pieces. His new book on American discovery myths is titled The Battle Over America’s Origins: Legends, Amateurs, and Professional Historiographers, published by Palgrave-Macmillan in May 2022.

This meeting is free and open to the public, but requires advance registration.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcod-yoqTwvGNSj8tXrkDCALrPTx2OCIMu0
After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Zoom with the link to join the meeting.