William C. Stack

William C. Stack has been an educator for 37 years, teaching history during that time with a focus on U.S. history and world history. He also worked for the Pew Charitable Trust. Mr. Stack earned his undergraduate degree in history and a master’s degree from the University of Portland. He earned two fellowships to study American history at Oxford University and was a recipient of a Fulbright Teacher Exchange award. Mr. Stack has written several articles and a book about various aspects of American and Pacific Northwest history: Historical Photos of Oregon (2010), John Adams (2011), George Flavel (2012) and Glenn Jackson (2014).

Looking then and now: ‘Differ We Must’

April 10, 2025William C. Stack

In his Hatfield Lecture Series talk, National Public Radio’s Steve Inskeep discusses his new book on Abraham Lincoln and makes some surprising comparisons to today’s politics.

Lecture: The trials and triumphs of John Adams

March 9, 2025William C. Stack

Speaking in the Hatfield Lecture Series, historian Lindsay Chervinsky talks about her book "Making the Presidency" and the path Adams paved as our second president.

A conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones on Black history and ‘The 1619 Project’

February 6, 2025William C. Stack

The celebrated journalist, historian, activist and onetime Portlander gives a revealing and triumphant talk in the Oregon Historical Society's Hatfield Lecture Series.

Heather Cox Richardson on the history leading up to 2024’s presidential election

September 19, 2024William C. Stack

The historian and author of "Democracy Awakening" kicks off the new Mark O. Hatfield lecture series, tracing the nation's current ideological split to reactions against FDR's re-election in 1936.

Hatfield Lecture: H.W. Brands on the ‘brawling birth of American politics’

May 9, 2024William C. Stack

Speaking on his new book "Founding Partisans" and the long history of a sharply divided American politics, the historian gives a spirited wrapup to this year's Hatfield series.

Ned Blackhawk and the Rediscovery of America

April 4, 2024William C. Stack

Blackhawk, winner of a 2023 National Book Award for his history of Native life in the U.S. and its historical misrepresentation, speaks in the Oregon Historical Society's Hatfield Lecture series.

Liz Cheney on Jan. 6 and beyond

March 7, 2024William C. Stack

Speaking to a Hatfield Lecture Series audience about her book "Oath and Honor," the former congresswoman talks about Putin, China, Israel/Hamas, Trump's "Big Lie" and more.

‘Bad Mexicans’ and the 1910 revolution

February 8, 2024William C. Stack

Historian Kelly Lytle Hernández talks in a Hatfield Lecture Series program about the "magonistas" dissidents who paved the path for the ouster of the iron-fisted President Porfirio Díaz.

A human view of a civil rights icon

October 21, 2023William C. Stack

Historian Jonathan Eig talks to a Portland audience about his intimate portrait of MLK Jr.'s American journey in "King: A Life," the first biography of the human rights crusader in 40 years.

Caroline Miller in England and Africa

September 26, 2023William C. Stack

The former Oregon political figure's new memoir takes her back to the 1950s and life-shaping experiences from teaching in England to seeing apartheid first-hand.

A historian’s boyhood among the woolies

July 31, 2023William C. Stack

A memoir by Richard Etulain, Oregon historian of the West, spins a yarn about growing up on a Basque sheep ranch in eastern Washington.

A historian outlines a path to ‘beloved community’

May 26, 2023William C. Stack

Peniel Joseph tells an Oregon Historical Society audience about the nation's three phases of Reconstruction and the continuing quest for racial equity.

Douglas Brinkley on America’s ‘Silent Spring Revolution’

April 19, 2023William C. Stack

The noted historian traces the "great environmental awakening" of the mid-20th century for a Hatfield Lecture Series audience.

The long troubling reach of ‘The Chinese Question’

March 30, 2023William C. Stack

In an Oregon Historical Society lecture, author and historian Mai Ngai traces the legacy of racially motivated mistreatment of Chinese workers in the U.S. and British colonies.

Nina and RBG: A rare friendship

February 3, 2023William C. Stack

NPR's Nina Totenberg tells an Oregon Historical Society audience about her book "Dinner with Ruth" and her long friendship with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Doris Kearns Goodwin on LBJ and voting rights

October 19, 2022William C. Stack

Johnson and Congress's great achievement of almost 60 years ago is under attack, the noted historian tells an Oregon Historical Society audience.

Bookbinding: The Art of the Old and New

October 3, 2022William C. Stack

In a city that revels in the art of the book, bookbinder Jason Patrician revives and restores the beauty of printed history.

Hidden treasure in downtown Portland

June 27, 2022William C. Stack

The Special Collections Room at Central Library is a place for serious research amid a trove of rarities, from 13th century Bibles to early-edition copies of Beatrix Potter's children's tales.