 | On April 16, the Godalming and Haslemere visitors
arrived in Atlanta, Georgia's capital city. Although Atlanta has no direct
connection to Oglethorpe, no serious student of James Oglethorpe could come
to Georgia without visiting Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. |
 | Founded in Milledgevile in 1835, Oglethorpe
University was reestablished in Atlanta in 1915. Its architectural style and
liberal arts tradition were patterned after James Oglethorpe's alma mater,
Corpus Christi College, Oxford. |
 | Here, the group got a chance to see the
university's famous oval portrait of James Oglethorpe, believed to have been
painted sometime after the general's return to England in 1744. |
 | Oglethorpe University also owns the only known
portrait of Oglethorpe's wife, Elizabeth. A companion portrait of James as a
young man is believed to have been painted following his return from
fighting the Turks in Europe. |
 | During their stay in Atlanta, the delegation found
out about some of the things being done in Georgia to celebrate the James
Oglethorpe Tercentenary. After Governor Miller declared a year-long
observance in January, Oglethorpe University hosted Oglethorpe Day on
February 8, 1996. |
 | That observance had begun with a bagpipe player
summoning students, faculty, and visitors to a convocation in Lupton
Auditorium with welcoming and speeches, plus appropriate songs from The
University Singers. |
 | Afterwards, everyone proceeded to the student
center for lunch and a birthday cake for James Oglethorpe with 300 candles.
It took four people working feverishly to get all 300 candles lite at the
same time. |
 | In a more scholarly vein, the university has also
launcheed a new journal, with the premier issue consisting of a celebration
of the Oglethorpe Tercentenary. |