On Monday, November 7, 2016, Overbeck History Lecture Series speaker John P. Richardson will present a  powerpoint lecture on Alexander R. Shepherd, the man credited with helping to transform Washington from its post-Civil War shambles into a modern city during DC’s territorial government period (1871-74).Richardson calls Shepherd’s achievement in building Washington’s infrastructure against all odds an American success story. Richardson’s lecture will be based on his biography, Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation’s Capital, soon to be published by Ohio University Press.  Copies of the book will be available at the lecture for purchase.

Richardson became interested in Shepherd when he lived in DC’s Shepherd Park neighborhood, just a short distance from the site of Shepherd’s summer home, Bleak House.  During his professional career, Richardson was president of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) and the Center for Middle East Policy and later was an officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, serving in Pakistan, Jordan and Indonesia, before retiring in 2005.  He is secretary of the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of Washington, DC.

The lecture will be held at the Hill Center at 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE at 7:30 pm.  As always, admission is free but a reservation is required due to limited seating.  Go to http:/hillcenterdc.org/home/program/2511  or simply call 202-549-4172. The Overbeck Lectures are sponsored by the Capitol Hill Community Foundation.