Happy Hour: Winston Churchill and the United States of America

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National Winston Churchill Day
Tuesday, April 9, 2024, 4:00 PM ET

Sponsored by the ESU Kansas City Branch

On April 9, 1963, President Kennedy signed a House Resolution proclaiming Sir Winston Churchill an Honorary Citizen of the United States. This program will examine and explore Churchill's life-long admiration for America and his belief that a "special relationship" between Britain and the United States would benefit both countries and the greater world. We invite ESU members and guests around the world to celebrate National Winston Churchill Day on April 9th with our guest speaker, Timothy Riley, Director and Chief Curator of America's National Churchill Museum. This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Kansas City Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required.

Since 2016, Timothy Riley has served as the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator for America's National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri. During his tenure he has expanded the Museum's collection, exhibitions, programs, publications and underscored the continued relevance of Winston Churchill' legacy in today's world.

He received his baccalaureate degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, before pursuing graduate study at Columbia University in New York City. He previously served at The Cloisters, a part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From 2006 to 2012 Mr. Riley served as director of The Trout Museum of Art in Appleton and was appointed Director Emeritus in 2012. Riley was inducted into the Association of Churchill Fellows of Westminster College in 2016.

He has curated Churchill exhibitions throughout the United States including aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA; at the Society of Four Arts in Palm Beach, FL; Hillsdale College; and at Washington University in St. Louis. Vanity Fair called the latter exhibition "the most comprehensive collection of Churchill paintings ever to be presented."

He is an in-demand speaker on Winston Churchill and has been cited or interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Le Point, NPR, C-SPAN's Washington Journal, and others. He recently contributed a chapter examining speeches by Winston Churchill and Mikhail Gorbachev in, The End of Cold War and its Aftermath, a book published by the Arthur D. Simons Center for Ethical Leadership Interagency Cooperation and published the Command and Staff College Foundation Press. He also is a contributing editor for Finest Hour, the journal of the International Churchill Society.

He serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Churchill Fellows of Westminster College and the Board of Directors for the International Churchill Society-United States.

Mr. Riley was the keynote speaker at the National Patron Reception during ESU's Annual Conference, October 20-22, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. His presentation, "How Winston Churchill Mobilized the English Language…in Missouri" was a tour de force at the reception.

The ESU Kansas Branch has collaborated with Tim and America's National Churchill Museum on a number of occasions including a lecture program on "The Art of Winston Churchill" and Tim generously assisted with a video about the Winston and Clementine Churchill Statue in Kansas City as part of ESU's 100 Years, 100 Stories Centennial Celebrations.

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill's birth in 1874. There will be events throughout the year in various locations around the globe to commemorate this milestone. Click below to learn more.

Cocktail: Champagne

Preferably Pol Roger

"I could not live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it. In defeat I need it."

--Winston Churchill

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