Harry Middleton Lectureship with Mikhail Gorbachev

Former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev visited the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas on October 18, 2011. When LBJ Library Director Mark Updegrove asked how history would regard him, Mr. Gorbachev replied through his translator, “The answer is ‘good.’ That’s a joke. My second joke is that history is a fickle lady, but I’m proud of the life that I have lived. And let history decide."

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Lady Bird Johnson established the Harry Middleton Lectureship in 1994 to honor the career, loyalty, and legacy of Mr. Middleton, who served in the Johnson administration and as director of the LBJ Library for 30 years.

The lectureship was designed to attract and enrich the learning experiences of The University of Texas at Austin students and the Austin community. Speakers have included former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Tom Brokaw, and playwright and film director David Mamet.

Learn more: http://www.lbjlibrary.org