SSHSA Speaker Series 2026 – Live at the Ship History Center or via Zoom
Join us at the Ship History Center near the airport in Warwick, Rhode Island. These events are open to members, the public, and are also available via Zoom, unless otherwise noted.
Ida Lewis: The Legendary Lady Light Keeper of Lime Rock
October 24, 2026, Doors open at 10 a.m. ET, Presentation begins at 10:30 a.m. ET, local author, speaker, and SSHSA member Brian Wallin will present “Ida Lewis: The Legendary Lady Light Keeper of Lime Rock,” highlighting her life and 18 rescues on the anniversary of her death. Also available via Zoom.
USS Cyclops
November 7, 2026, Via Zoom ONLY 10:30 a.m. ET, author, researcher, and SSHSA member Marvin Barrash will present about his book USS Cyclops. The collier USS Cyclops was lost in the Bermuda Triangle during WWI. She was headed to Baltimore, Maryland with a massive cargo of war materiel. She never arrived at her destination. Barrash has been featured on the History Channel and National Geographic, among other documentaries.
The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica
November 11, 6:30 p.m. ET, via Zoom ONLY, Best-selling Author, Laurie Gwen Shapiro, will present via Zoom about her book The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica. Follow the journey from scrappy teen stowaway in the jazz age to a seasoned captain aboard a liberty ship in the Merchant Marines.
Other Events SSHSA is Attending – Come See Us There!
- October 24, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Marine Mart at VFW 1146 Bruce Post, St. Clair Shores, MI
SSHSA Speaker Series 2027 – Live at the Ship History Center or via Zoom
The Music of the Fall River Line
A program centered on the music written for the steamships as well as the music performed aboard them. This talk highlights how the Fall River Line used music to shape its identity and passenger experience.
The Royal Tar, 1836: Reconstructing an Early Steamship Disaster
The side-wheel steamer Royal Tar is often remembered only as “the Circus Ship” that burned off the coast of Maine in 1836. Drawing upon eighteen years of archival, maritime, technical, underwater, and on-site research, Dennis Dorsey examines the vessel and its operation, and the events of its final voyage and those impacted. The presentation will also explain how the research, analysis and investigation were brought together to evaluate surviving accounts of the disaster.
Forgotten Monitor: USS Tecumseh
Civil War Historian and SSHSA Member Thomas Nank shares the significance of the Monitor Tecumseh and her role in the Union Army’s fleet of monitors, ending in a sinking by torpedo off the shores of Mobile, Alabama in 1862.
The Adriatic Affair
Hailed as one of the finest ships in the world at the time, French steamship Le Leyonnais was built with both sails and steam during the transition to steam powered vessels. On November 2, 1856, she was struck and damaged by American sailing vessel Adriatic, resulting in a tragic sinking days later that took the lives of 114 passengers. Captain Jonathan Durham of the Adriatic was put on trial by the French authorities as his collision left passengers to fend for themselves in the North Atlantic. Jennifer Sellitti will share the true story of Le Lyonnais, detailing the mystery of her loss and the decades long hunt to locate the wreck of the vessel.