From the ashes of the Second World War came the idea of the United Nations—an organization that would serve as a center for international diplomacy. Charlene Mires, author of Capital of the World, will discuss the dramatic, surprising, and at times comic story of the hometown promoters in pursuit of an extraordinary prize and the diplomats who struggled with the balance of power at a pivotal moment in history. Among more than 200 cities and towns seeking to become the Capital of the World, Philadelphia was one of the most energetic competitors and nearly succeeded in luring the world's diplomats to the City of Brotherly Love.

Mires is associate professor of History at Rutgers-Camden and director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH). She is also the author of Independence Hall in American Memory, which will be issued in paperback this fall by University of Pennsylvania Press. A former editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, she was a co-winner of the Pulitzer Prize in journalism with other staff members of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel.

This lecture is part of the Philadelphia History Museum's popular Conversations series. Attendees are invited to arrive at 5 p.m. before the event to view the galleries. Refreshments will be served.