President Roosevelt was invited to speak at the Whitefriars Club, but, replying from Naivasha, British East Africa, on 6th August 1909 to the Honorary Secretary of the Club, Friar Joseph Shaylor, he wrote…
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In 1897, the twenty-five-year American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar travelled to England for a literary tour. He recited his works on the London circuit – and, what was not known before, visited the Whitefriars Club.
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Edward Litt Laman Blanchard, also known as E.L. Blanchard (1820–89), was a prolific and acclaimed author of dramas and pantomimes. He was also a journalist and a renowned newspaper drama critic.
Friar E.L. Blanchard was a member of the Whitefriars during the club’s first 20 years. He was Prior of the Day at the Annual Dinner on 12th February 1881 and the Smoking Lecture: ‘A Gossip about the Past’ on 18th May 1883.
Dr Colin Smythe gave a talk about Friar Blanchard at the AGM Dinner of 25th May 2022. You can read a report of his speech here.
(Below: A portrait drawing of E.L. Blanchard from The Whitefriars Chronicles, p. 63)
