Photo: Courtesy of Will McLean Greeley

When: Thursday, November 2, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Members: $10
Non-members: $15

Join us for an author event and learn about the man behind the ground-breaking, 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It’s one of the country’s first and most important conservation laws and has saved billions of birds.

Will McLean Greeley will provide an overview of his new biography, A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: Senator George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate. This is the story of how Connecticut’s George P. McLean helped establish lasting legal protections for birds that are still in effect today. Greeley, McLean’s great-great-nephew, puts McLean’s victory for birds in the context of his distinguished forty-five-year career marked by many acts of reform during a time of widespread corruption and political instability.

David Allen Sibley, author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds, writes of the book: “On one level this is a fascinating, and thoroughly researched, glimpse into the workings of U.S. politics in the early twentieth century. On another level it’s an inspiring story of one man’s determination and steadfast commitment to securing legal protections for birds. I am glad to know more about George McLean.” A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington was published by the Rochester Institute of Technology Press in March 2023.

Will McLean Greeley grew up in western Michigan with a passion for American history, politics, and birds. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan, followed by a master’s degree in archives administration. After retiring from a thirty-five-year career in government and corporate market research, he embarked on a three-year journey of research and writing to produce the story of his great-great-uncle George P. McLean and his legacy. Greeley, married and the father of two sons, and twice a grandfather, lives in Midland, Michigan. A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington is his first book.