University of Akron Author Educator Highlights Book Celebrating Akron’s Bicentennial, at October Meeting

On October 9, Hudson Heritage Association will host Dr. Jon Miller, who will share highlights from the new book, Akron at 200: A Bicentennial History, an anthology of essays offering new information about Akron’s place in the history of Northeast Ohio since the city’s founding in 1825.

Co-edited by Dr. Miller and David Lieberth, retired Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff of the City of Akron and now Executive Secretary of the Akron Bicentennial Commission, the book includes the work of 26 authors who were recruited to compile accounts of topics related to the city that had not been published before and to take a fresh look as some topics through the lens of new research.

The book is not a comprehensive chronicle of the City of Akron. It is, instead, a celebration of 200 years of the city’s past. It includes profiles of well-known figures such as John Brown and Sojourner Truth, and also tells the stories of entrepreneurs, musicians, athletes and other citizens who contributed to the growth and reputation of the city. Important political and religious leaders are profiled, as are other Akronites whose names and accomplishments may be new to the reader. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at a discounted price after the program.

Jon Miller is Director of the University of Akron Press and Professor of English at the University of Akron. He received his Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa in 2000 with a dissertation on the literary history of temperance and prohibition in America before the Civil War. His B.A. with Honors was awarded from the University of Delaware in 1992. He has been at the University of Akron since 2000.

HHA’s October 9 program, to be held at Barlow Community Center, begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.