Program Description

What do Rochester’s founders, the American Revolution, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the struggle for freedom have in common?

In this Tuesday Program, historian Dr. Timothy W. Kneeland explores the people and events that shaped our region. He tells the stories behind Monroe County’s earliest settlers and the enduring legacies they left behind.

Originally presented on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

Content Advisory

This program discusses the American Revolution in the Rochester region, including warfare, violence against Haudenosaunee communities, slavery, and forced displacement. Some descriptions are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

About the Speaker

Dr. Timothy W. Kneeland is Professor of History and Politics at Nazareth University in Rochester, New York. He is the founding director of the university’s Center for Public History, where he also directs the undergraduate program in Museums, Archives, and Public History.

Dr. Kneeland has written extensively on American politics, natural disaster policy, and the history of science and medicine. His books include:

• Pushbutton Psychiatry: A Cultural History of Electroshock in America (2002; 2008)
• Democrats and Republicans on Social Issues (2016)
• The Buffalo Blizzard of 1977 (2017)
• Playing Politics with Natural Disaster: Hurricane Agnes, the 1972 Election, and the Origins of FEMA (2020)
• Declaring Disaster: The Buffalo Blizzard of ’77 and the Creation of FEMA (2021)
• Routledge History of American Science (2022)

In addition to teaching and writing, Dr. Kneeland provides political analysis to U.S. and global media. He has lived in Greece, New York, since 2003.