Date(s): Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Time: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: DOC House
10 Hilton Field Rd
Hanover, NH 03755
Have you ever wondered about the origin of “Dartmouth” in Dartmouth College? The college was named after William Legge, the 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, when it was created by Royal Charter issued by Governor John Wentworth in December 1769. This surprised Lord Dartmouth, as his name was used without permission and, worse, it was associated with a fraud. He was not amused and he never forgave. After explaining the college’s fraudulent beginning, the talk turns to the life and times of Lord Dartmouth. Topics to be covered include: his marriage into money, which financed his philanthropy and London real estate development; his Low Church Anglicanism/Methodism; and his service as a senior British government official in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War.
Martin Jeffries is a polar scientist whose academic research took him to the Arctic and Antarctica to study icebergs, ice shelves, sea ice and freshwater ice. He later worked for the U.S. Government in the research funding and policy arenas before concluding his career at CRREL, where he was Chief Scientist and Senior Arctic Advisor. Since retiring in 2020, Martin has enjoyed being a member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dartmouth, particularly developing and delivering courses about the Arctic and Antarctica, and different aspects of the socio-economic history of the U.K. and New England.