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June Meeting
June 13 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Author Victoria (Vicky) Loberg will discuss
Has Robert Green Ingersoll Been Forgotten?
Robert Green Ingersoll was one of, if not the most, famous public speakers of the 19th century. He called Peoria home for more than 20 of his 65 years of life, but has Peoria forgotten him?
That’s the question Dr. Victoria Loberg asks in her book Robert Green Ingersoll – Forgotten by Peoria?
photo by Mathew Brady between 1865 and 1880
Ingersoll was known as “Peoria’s pagan politician,” referring to his agnosticism and prowess working a crowd with his speech. Before the invention of radio, he drew crowds in the thousands to hear him speak. He was charismatic and owned the stage. And he could speak for hours, because he had a photographic memory.
Ingersoll’s disdain for organized religion earned him some negative sentiment. The Republican politician was serving as Illinois Attorney General when the current Illinois State Capitol was constructed. His name was engraved on the cornerstone. And Christian groups did not favor that action,
Ingersoll famously declared he could have been elected president of the United States, if only he would renounce his agnosticism. Upon his death in 1899, his daughter lobbied to have a statue of her father erected in a prominent location somewhere in the nation’s Capitol, but religious groups successfully pushed back on the proposal.
So, how did Peoria recognize his accomplishments? Or, has been forgotten – even in Peoria?
About Vicky: I’m an Indiana native with an undergraduate degree from Purdue University, a doctor of medicine from Indiana University Medical School. and Hematology/Oncology training from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I moved to Peoria from Minnesota with two toddlers in the 1980s when my husband, Dr. Douglas Loberg, accepted an anesthesiology position here. I became medical director of women’s heath at Methodist Hospital in Peoria.
As the kids got older I focused on their activities and became a substitute teacher for Peoria District 150. For my next reinvention I taught anatomy and physiology at Illinois Central College (ICC) for five years.
As an empty nester and widow, I have now decided to write books.
Vicky will have copies of her book available!
Short Business Meeting will Follow.
