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Beinecke Library welcomes all to a special display of materials from Yale Library collections related to Roger Sherman, America 250, Connecticut, New Haven, and Yale History on Sherman’s birthday. The display will be on Sunday, April 19, from 1 to 4 PM in the Beinecke Library reading room, 121 Wall Street. The library will showcase historic newspapers, broadsides, maps, correspondence, and other materials by and about Sherman and his time. Note that the first printing of the Declaration of Independence and other key documents will be on view in the exhibition, "Unfurling the Flag: Reflections on American Patriotism," on the main level of the library from March 16 to September 27, 2026.Born on April 19, 1721, Sherman was the only person to sign all four basic documents of national formation: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. Sherman served on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration, signed the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War, and played a key role in the 1787 constitutional convention.
A lawyer, he moved to New Haven in 1761 and lived here for the rest of his life. Sherman served in many civic roles, including justice of the peace, on the Governor’s Council of the Connecticut General Assembly, and as Justice of the Superior Court of Connecticut. In 1784, he was elected as the first mayor of New Haven, an office he held until his death in 1793. Sherman is buried in the Grove Street Cemetery.
Sherman is particularly known for the Great Compromise, or Connecticut Compromise, in the Constitutional Convention. It established a bicameral legislature, with two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. A founding father of the nation, Sherman was a proponent of legislative leadership and of holding executive power in check.
The one-day display also falls on the 251st anniversary of some of the key fighting in the American Revolution, as the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord 251 years ago on April 19, 1775.
Items on view will shine a light on the histories of New Haven, Yale, and the people of the time – both well-known figures like Nathan Hale, James Hillhouse, and Noah Webster, as well as others who were sustainers of the community and builder of the nation even if their names are not as well remembered. The Beinecke display will also include some items tied to General George Washington and the course of fighting in the Revolutionary War.
Everyone will be welcome to take a full-scale facsimile edition of the Dunlap Broadside, the first printing of the Declaration of Independence. Beinecke Library stewards an original first printing, one of only 25 first printings known to survive and the only one in Connecticut.
Please note: When you arrive at the Beinecke Library, please place bags, hats, coats, and other belongings in the provided lockers before heading downstairs. Food and beverages are not allowed in the library. No ink pens are permitted in the reading room, but pencils are available for visitors. Visitors are welcome to take non-flash photographs.
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Event Venue
121 Wall St, New Haven, CT, United States, Connecticut 06511
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