The 23rd annual Great Americans Day event on Nov. 12 at Pitt–Johnstown will feature Amelia Earhart in a first-person portrayal by Ann Birney.

This series intends to promote the American ideal of civic virtue central to citizenship and to remind us that the continued success of our society depends upon both individual and collective contributions. Prior programs focused on the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Will Rogers among many.

Amelia Earhart is best known as the first female (and second person) to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She was the most famous woman of her time, and a daring pilot whose aviation firsts made her a media idol and a symbol of what women could accomplish.

Birney holds a doctorate in American Studies from the University of Kansas and, like Earhart, is a native Kansan. In March 2000, she became the first person to present a historical performance for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The event is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Living-Learning Center at Pitt–Johnstown. 

The program is presented by Pitt-Johnstown’s History Department, the Phi Alpha Theta International History Honor Society, and Sodexo USA; and is sponsored by the Howard M. and Adelle C. Picking Great Americans Day Forum Fund.