A spy, a lover, a scientist, an inventor, and a diplomat, Benjamin Thompson, the American-born Count Rumford of Concord, lived a complex and controversial life. Rumford’s time in New Hampshire was brief but meaningful, as when he was ennobled by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1792, he chose to be named Rumford after one of the early names for Concord. 

Join Glen Rodgers, emeritus professor at Allegheny College, active member of the Canterbury church, and author of Traveling with the Atom: A Scientific Guide to Europe and Beyond, as he recounts Rumford’s scientific, economic, diplomatic, and military accomplishments while following in his footsteps across the United States and Europe in a talk at the New Hampshire Historical Society on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 2 pm. 

Admission is free for society members; $7 for nonmembers. No registration required. The historical society is located at 30 Park St. in Concord.