This seminar presents a look at already published obituaries and how lives were celebrated with the written word.  We’ll explore how people used humor or a quirky habit or an attention grabbing line in their life stories.  What are some features of an obituary that grabs your attention?   Given a snippet of an obituary of a famous person, could you name that person? We know that you are just dying to get in this class.

This updated seminar goes beyond the aircraft to the stories of the people that made history. This updated seminar will include recently added items in space. The format will include a short classroom presentation followed by a tour of the galleries.

This seminar will compare George Orwell’s 1984 and Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus to explore how power operates through information. Participants will consider how surveillance, technology, communication, and control shape both fictional worlds and modern society. The class will invite discussion about what these works can teach us about freedom, truth, and life in the age of big data.

During WWII, the Germans used two machines for encrypting secret messages. Most have heard part of the story of breaking the Enigma machine at Bletchley Park in Britain, but not many know that three Polish mathematicians broke the Enigma code seven years before the British and finally they taught the British how to do it. The Lorenz SZ cypher machine was an attachment to a teletype machine. It was used by Hitler to communicate with his top commanders. Its existence was not publicly known before 2000. The COLOSSUS was the world's first programmable digital computer used to break the Lorenz SZ code.

In this 2-part seminar, the instructor will share his experience planning, orchestrating, and pulling off a very successful family reunion, a four-day set of events honoring his ancestor’s journeys and their personal sacrifices coming to America to make a better life ‘fur die Kinder’.  We’ll describe how you can create a similar weekend of celebration, commemoration, collaboration, chowing down, and chuckling.  The approach can be used as the template for your get-together - there is no need for previous experience, only bring your enthusiasm, imagination…and the unique knowledge of your family’s journey.  You’re sure to be motivated to jumpstart the creative process for organizing your next extended family reunion!

We'll also share interesting experiences about seemingly random coincidences in meeting people with information about his family, or insights he’s uncovered seemingly by happenstance in the course of his decades of research, and what you can do to 'create your coincidences' to advance your knowledge of your family's story.

In this program, we'll explore seven of Dayton’s National Register Historic Neighborhoods: Oregon, Grafton Hill, South Park, Paul Laurence Dunbar, McPherson Town, Grafton-Rockwood-Wroe, and Kenilworth. You’ll learn about the cultural significance of each neighborhood, the architectural styles of selected houses, and the men and women who lived in them.

The seminar will focus on lesser-known Dayton inventors.  For example, Vincent G. Apple has 745 patents credited to his name.  Charles Francis Jenkins had 400 patents, and Thomas Midgley, Jr., was granted over 100 patents over his career.  In addition to these individuals, many more ingenious inventions that came out of Dayton.  The course will also refer to Dayton's more famous inventors.

This seminar will take an in-depth look at espionage during the Revolutionary War and the role it played in the American victory. Participants will learn how American spies outmaneuvered British intelligence, uncovered plots, and helped protect George Washington. The class will explore spying in America, England, and France while showing how intelligence work shaped the outcome of the war.

Explore the fascinating history of medical folklore and the many ways people have tried to cure symptoms and diseases throughout time. From Ancient Egypt and Greece through the Renaissance and into Appalachia, this seminar will examine the use of herbs, magic, religion, astrology, and other unusual remedies. Together, we will consider what was fact, what was fiction, and what may have had some truth behind it.

Taxes are one of the most important topics facing United States citizens in today’s economy. However, taxes are also the least understood topic, as shown by the number of Americans who use tax software or go to a paid tax preparer to file their annual return. The purpose of this course is to expose students to terms and concepts that affect how the U.S. tax system originated, evolved, and operates today. Of special interest is the evolution of the Internal Revenue Code from a way to raise revenue to a device to shape behavior and direct social policy. The course explores various critical issues present today by tracing the development of those issues throughout the tax history of the U.S.

Join us for an engaging seminar as fourteen UDOLLI members each showcase notable inventors who have profoundly impacted our world across five centuries. This dynamic series will feature a diverse range of presentation styles and insights, illuminating the lives and inventions of pioneers from various fields.  Explore the contributions of Colonel Edward Deeds, a significant figure in the advancement of electrical engineering, and discover the brilliant mind of Grace Hopper, a trailblazer in computer science. Delve into the agricultural innovations of Jethro Tull and the mechanized wonders of Elisha Otis. Learn about the groundbreaking work of Philo Farnsworth in television technology and the transformative contributions of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in personal computing. The seminar will also celebrate the inventive spirit of Thomas A. Edison, the scientific rigor of Rosalind Franklin, and the versatile genius of Leonardo Da Vinci, whose work blurred the lines between art and engineering. Additionally, we'll highlight Dr. Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist who revolutionized cataract surgery, and Igor Sikorsky, the pioneer of helicopter design. Don't miss this opportunity to experience the inspiring stories and creative legacies of these remarkable individuals who have shaped our modern lives. Come prepared to be inspired by innovation and creativity!

Technical Sergeant Joe Girz flew 57 combat missions during World War II, as a Radio Operator-Waist Gunner in B-26 Martin Marauder medium bombers.  Flying out of Sardinia, Corsica, and Dijon, France, between August 1944 and May 1945, he and his crewmates flew bombing missions to hit specific targets in Italy, France, and Germany.  During this time, TSgt Girz kept a personal log of each of his missions while serving in the 17th Bombardment Group.  His son Tom has compiled his father’s diaries, personal logs, and official mission records into a thrilling retrospective about true patriotism, courage, and survival – not uncommon traits in those we now refer to as The Greatest Generation.  Written in the first person, these memoirs become an interesting viewpoint to tell the story of this challenging time, by placing TSgt Girz’s personal story within the greater war effort – the air and ground operations of the Mediterranean and European conflicts.

This is a follow on to the last Recent History seminar with new topics!  Most Americans know Alistair Cooke as the popular host of the PBS series Masterpiece Theater.  But for over five decades Cooke was also a regular contributor to the BBC through his Letters from America radio broadcasts in which he describes daily life and current affairs in America.  In this seminar we’ll use Cooke’s Letters as an aperture for viewing late 20th century history.  Since the events all take place within our lifetimes, we’ll have the opportunity to see how “current affairs” morph into “history”, and reflect how our own views on these topics have evolved (or not) over time.

Travel virtually to the Eternal City and discover its archaeological wonders. Our tour begins on the Palatine Hill where we’ll uncover evidence supporting its mythical creation. We’ll trace the first kings as they established foundations and constructed the Forum. During the Republic, elite patricians vied for power resulting in an expansion of temples, theaters, and public works. Civil unrest produced a new emperor who transformed a city of brick into one of marble. This class will prepare you to visit Rome and witness its legacy from the bedrock up.

A century ago, aircraft designer Jack Northrop began dreaming of an all-wing aircraft, a pure wing unencumbered by traditional fuselage and tail. Many thought his designs were too radical, and his giant Flying Wing bombers were canceled and then destroyed following World War II. In this one-night Zoom seminar, you’ll learn the truth about why Northrop’s flying wings were canceled, and how they came to be reborn in the form of today’s stealth bombers, the B-2 and B-21. The moderator, Dr. Bud Baker, has spent the last 45 years studying and working with Flying Wings, including his 5-year stint as an Air Force program manager for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

At the beginning of the automobile era in America marketing and advertising focused on the need to convince consumers that these new-fangled conveyances were roadworthy. Print advertisements mostly emphasized the mechanicals of the motorcar as well as its  reliability. By the 1930s, particularly with the rise of General Motors and the ethos of planned obsolescence, keeping the customer wanting “the next new thing” was being aggressively pushed by marketing executives. Indeed, two of the most important individuals in the early marketing of the automobile had Dayton connections: Ned Jordan and Richard Grant and we’ll speak to their contributions. Within the advertising field its long been a given that consumerist behavior is highly influenced by desires for personal identification and social status. As such most automobile marketing over time has focused on cars as desirable objects but with important subthemes related to the family unit, class status, the desire for travel, economic success and upward mobility, celebrity, feminism, and sexuality. In this seminar we’ll illustrate all of these themes through the viewing of actual print and motion picture marketing placements.

This seminar will include an overview of the history of our national park system after which we will take a visual tour of some of the most famous and iconic of our 63 national parks and along the way visit some of the known but equally beautiful and fascinating gems. We will touch upon the geology and stories behind the parks and offer some travel suggestions. The seminar will be enhanced with an extensive use of videos in our appreciation for “America’s Best Idea”.

Calvary Cemetery is one of the most peaceful and scenic sites in the Miami Valley, overlooking the Miami River, Carillon Park, and the Dayton skyline. This seminar will explore the history of St. Henry and Calvary Cemetery through a 50-minute chapel presentation followed by an approximately one-hour walking tour. Participants will learn about the people, stories, and setting that make this site an important part of Dayton’s history.

During World War II, the small town of North Platte, Nebraska, became the site of an extraordinary act of hospitality. Over four years, local volunteers welcomed and fed millions of traveling soldiers at a Union Pacific depot, often working up to 20 hours a day. This seminar will tell the inspiring story of the North Platte Canteen and the community spirit that helped sustain service members far from home.

Samuel Pierpont Langley, a famous scientist, was the head of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1896, he built an unmanned airplane that flew almost a mile. In 1898, he was given a $50,000 government grant to develop the first manned airplane. He was the person that was supposed to invent the airplane. Little known outside their neighborhood, the Wright Brothers operated a small printing/bicycle business in Dayton, Ohio. They used their own money to develop and fly the first manned, powered, controllable airplane. This seminar will acquaint attendees with Langley, the Wrights and their helpers and followers.

Many of us think of Peanuts' Snoopy when we think of the Red Baron, but he was a real person who has inspired many myths and much misinformation. In this seminar we will do a deep dive into Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the top fighter pilot of World War I, using a well-researched biography by Richthofen expert Peter Kilduff, along with Richthofen’s autobiography, recent articles, and historical film footage and documentaries.

William McCulloch grew up in an all-white village; attended an all-white college; graduated from an all-white law school, but as a longstanding Ohio GOP congressman played a central role in the American civil rights movement. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach: ‘We would not have a Civil Rights Act of 1964 or a Voting Rights Act of 1965 were it not for William McCulloch. God knows what would have happened to this country if those bills had not become law.’The New York Times reporter Adam Clymer: ‘McCulloch was absolutely essential to the most important law of the 20th century, the 1964 Civil Rights Act.’ Fr. Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame: ‘To the growing number of Americans who declare they are losing faith in our system, my rebuttal is the civil rights stand of Congressman William McCulloch.’ In 1969 he co-led the House of Representatives in voting to abolish the Electoral College. That never repeated effort failed in the U.S. Senate.