Thomas Jefferson living history performance, Oklahoma History Center

The Oklahoma History Center is honored to present Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson—the first secretary of state, third president of the United States, and coauthor of the Declaration of Independence. There will be four performances at the Oklahoma History Center on Wednesday, October 3. Two student performances are scheduled for October 3 at 10:30 am and 11:45 am. Students can attend those performances for free. Public performances will be at 2 pm and 7 pm. Tickets for the public performances are $10 for members of the Oklahoma Historical Society and $20 for nonmembers. Please call 405-522-0765 for additional information and ticketing. This program is partially funded through the generosity of Sonic, America’s Drive-In.

Barker’s presentations will focus primarily on the Louisiana Purchase. This acquisition was a critical part of the growth and expansion accomplished during Thomas Jefferson’s term as president and was the impetus for the journey of the premier exploration team of Lewis and Clark. The Oklahoma History Center has in its collection a Certificate of Friendship given to Chief Big Axe of the Otoe-Missouria tribe by Lewis and Clark in 1804, as well as other documents pertaining to this expedition. These artifacts came to the History Center through the generosity of Joanne Aitson and Joe Dent, whose families preserved these documents for more than two centuries.

Barker has appeared as Jefferson for Colonial Williamsburg since 1993 after debuting at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He has performed at the White House, the Palace of Versailles and throughout the United States, Great Britain, France and the Las Vegas Strip. He has been featured in several magazines including Time, People, The Atlantic, Philadelphia, Southern Living, Reader’s Digest, and Colonial Williamsburg Journal. He has appeared in programs aired on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CNN, The History Channel, and C-SPAN. He has received commendations from the City of Philadelphia, the City of St. Louis, the City of New Orleans and the Hellenic Ideals Foundation.