Matthew Warner Osborn
@nighthawkog.bsky.social
Historian of early America. Author of Rum Maniacs: Alcoholic Insanity in the Early American Republic, and Night Hawk: A Nineteenth-Century Superhero and the Dawn of American Mass Culture https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/N/bo271055968.html
Pinned
I am thrilled to announce that my book Night Hawk: A Nineteenth-Century Superhero and the Dawn of American Mass Culture is officially in production and scheduled for publication in September 2026 by @uchicagopress.bsky.social
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
On 2/11, the AHA will host a Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on vaccines. Panelists Elena Conis, David M. Oshinsky, Michael Willrich, & moderator Sarah Weicksel will discuss how public perception & the role of the federal government in vaccination has changed over time. 🗃️
History of Vaccines – AHA
The American Historical Association (AHA) will host a Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on vaccines. The briefing will take place on Wednesday, February 11, at 9:00 a.m. in Raybu...
www.historians.org
February 4, 2026 at 6:40 PM
On 2/11, the AHA will host a Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on vaccines. Panelists Elena Conis, David M. Oshinsky, Michael Willrich, & moderator Sarah Weicksel will discuss how public perception & the role of the federal government in vaccination has changed over time. 🗃️
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
40 years ago
"A Date with Elvis" is the third studio album by the American punk rock band The Cramps. It was released in the UK in February 1986 and not until four years later, in 1990, in the US.
#punk #punks #punkrock #thecramps #adatewithelvis #history #punkrockhistory
"A Date with Elvis" is the third studio album by the American punk rock band The Cramps. It was released in the UK in February 1986 and not until four years later, in 1990, in the US.
#punk #punks #punkrock #thecramps #adatewithelvis #history #punkrockhistory
February 3, 2026 at 3:57 AM
40 years ago
"A Date with Elvis" is the third studio album by the American punk rock band The Cramps. It was released in the UK in February 1986 and not until four years later, in 1990, in the US.
#punk #punks #punkrock #thecramps #adatewithelvis #history #punkrockhistory
"A Date with Elvis" is the third studio album by the American punk rock band The Cramps. It was released in the UK in February 1986 and not until four years later, in 1990, in the US.
#punk #punks #punkrock #thecramps #adatewithelvis #history #punkrockhistory
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
My trusty calendar tells me that it is National Puzzle Day, so it the perfect day to read Patricia Jane Roylance's fascinating article in Commonplace on how an 1850s jigsaw puzzle version of Uncle Tom's Cabin jumbles and generates new meaning for the story. 🗃️
commonplace.online/article/uncl...
commonplace.online/article/uncl...
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Jigsaw Puzzle: Jumbling the Pieces of Stowe’s Story - Commonplace
Understanding puzzles as agents of disorder runs counter to a common interpretation that associates puzzles with the quest for and ultimate affirmation of order.
commonplace.online
January 29, 2026 at 8:36 PM
My trusty calendar tells me that it is National Puzzle Day, so it the perfect day to read Patricia Jane Roylance's fascinating article in Commonplace on how an 1850s jigsaw puzzle version of Uncle Tom's Cabin jumbles and generates new meaning for the story. 🗃️
commonplace.online/article/uncl...
commonplace.online/article/uncl...
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
This Thursday, January 22, at 4 p.m. ET, don't miss Jordan B. Smith discussing his new book THE INVENTION OF RUM in a hybrid virtual and in-person event hosted by @clementslibrary.bsky.social as part of the Drinking the Revolution series! Register now.
Drinking the Revolution Series - The Invention of Rum in an Era of Revolution with Jordan Smith - UM Clements Library
Planning a research visit?
bit.ly
January 18, 2026 at 4:28 PM
This Thursday, January 22, at 4 p.m. ET, don't miss Jordan B. Smith discussing his new book THE INVENTION OF RUM in a hybrid virtual and in-person event hosted by @clementslibrary.bsky.social as part of the Drinking the Revolution series! Register now.
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
One of the things I'm learning to love about Substack is that I can share material that didn't make it into the book. The Night Hawk, No. 4 is one of my favorites.
One of the things I'm learning to love about Substack is that I can share material that didn't make it into the book. The Night Hawk, No. 4 is one of my favorites.
Phantasmagoric Entertainment in Antebellum Philadelphia
The Night Hawk—No. 4, Mechanics' Free Press, September 13, 1828
open.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:58 PM
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
One of the things I'm learning to love about Substack is that I can share material that didn't make it into the book. The Night Hawk, No. 4 is one of my favorites.
One of the things I'm learning to love about Substack is that I can share material that didn't make it into the book. The Night Hawk, No. 4 is one of my favorites.
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
#BookHistory friends, take note! @printinghistory.bsky.social is holding its annual meeting tomorrow, and you can participate virtually.
I'm particularly excited for a speech by this year's APHA individual laureate Elizabeth Savage.
Details: printinghistory.org/apha-annual-...
#booksky 🗃️📜📚
I'm particularly excited for a speech by this year's APHA individual laureate Elizabeth Savage.
Details: printinghistory.org/apha-annual-...
#booksky 🗃️📜📚
APHA Annual Meeting Notice and Nominating Committee Slate - American Printing History Association
The American Printing History Association cordially invites you to attend our Annual Meeting on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM EST. Event Details &…
printinghistory.org
January 23, 2026 at 2:53 PM
#BookHistory friends, take note! @printinghistory.bsky.social is holding its annual meeting tomorrow, and you can participate virtually.
I'm particularly excited for a speech by this year's APHA individual laureate Elizabeth Savage.
Details: printinghistory.org/apha-annual-...
#booksky 🗃️📜📚
I'm particularly excited for a speech by this year's APHA individual laureate Elizabeth Savage.
Details: printinghistory.org/apha-annual-...
#booksky 🗃️📜📚
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
Heading to the printers soon and out in both the US/UK in three months!
#booksky 📚
Available for pre-order now wherever books are sold: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
#booksky 📚
Available for pre-order now wherever books are sold: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
October 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Heading to the printers soon and out in both the US/UK in three months!
#booksky 📚
Available for pre-order now wherever books are sold: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
#booksky 📚
Available for pre-order now wherever books are sold: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Bob Marley on the Northern Plains
open.substack.com/pub/andreaho...
open.substack.com/pub/andreaho...
Bob Marley on the Northern Plains
It’s 5 degrees above zero in Vermillion, South Dakota, on the January morning my son, Miles, excitedly texts me from his first class of the new semester.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Bob Marley on the Northern Plains
open.substack.com/pub/andreaho...
open.substack.com/pub/andreaho...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
The people making these decisions are also the ones who won’t suffer the consequences, whether AI is successful or not.
The people making these decisions are also the ones who won’t suffer the consequences, whether AI is successful or not.
‘We could hit a wall’: why trillions of dollars of risk is no guarantee of AI reward
Progress of artificial general intelligence could stall, which may lead to a financial crash, says Yoshua Bengio, one of the ‘godfathers’ of modern AI
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 4:43 PM
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
The people making these decisions are also the ones who won’t suffer the consequences, whether AI is successful or not.
The people making these decisions are also the ones who won’t suffer the consequences, whether AI is successful or not.
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
Reading the Night Hawk illuminates the enormous contributions that African Americans made to the development of commercial nightlife and restaurant culture in Philadelphia, the nation’s second largest city at the time.
Reading the Night Hawk illuminates the enormous contributions that African Americans made to the development of commercial nightlife and restaurant culture in Philadelphia, the nation’s second largest city at the time.
Philadelphia's Infamous Oyster Cellars and African American Entrepreneurs in the 1820s
"The NIght-Hawk—No. 3," Mechanics' Free Press, August 9, 1828.
open.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:21 AM
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
Reading the Night Hawk illuminates the enormous contributions that African Americans made to the development of commercial nightlife and restaurant culture in Philadelphia, the nation’s second largest city at the time.
Reading the Night Hawk illuminates the enormous contributions that African Americans made to the development of commercial nightlife and restaurant culture in Philadelphia, the nation’s second largest city at the time.
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
If you're a historian *in* Kansas, you should come present at the KAH this year in Topeka. Abstracts due Jan 26th, conference itself March 27-28. 🗃️ kansashistorians.org
Kansas Association of Historians - Promoting the sharing and learning of history by Kansans for Kansans since 1927
kansashistorians.org
January 15, 2026 at 3:43 PM
If you're a historian *in* Kansas, you should come present at the KAH this year in Topeka. Abstracts due Jan 26th, conference itself March 27-28. 🗃️ kansashistorians.org
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
And while we're at it, Plantation Goods from @uchicagopress.bsky.social will be out in paperback at about the same time this spring!
Plantation Goods
A Pulitzer Prize finalist in History, this eye-opening rethinking of nineteenth-century American history reveals the interdependence of the Northern industrial economy and Southern slave labor. The in...
press.uchicago.edu
January 12, 2026 at 2:59 PM
And while we're at it, Plantation Goods from @uchicagopress.bsky.social will be out in paperback at about the same time this spring!
I got uncorrected page proofs for Night Hawk today! So excited, this is happening.
January 12, 2026 at 10:37 PM
I got uncorrected page proofs for Night Hawk today! So excited, this is happening.
My book is about a fictional character, the Night Hawk, who has not been mentioned in print since November 1830. You can't find him with a google search. ChatGPT has no idea who the character is. My book comes out in September. I'm so curious to see when he will start showing up in AI summaries.
January 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
My book is about a fictional character, the Night Hawk, who has not been mentioned in print since November 1830. You can't find him with a google search. ChatGPT has no idea who the character is. My book comes out in September. I'm so curious to see when he will start showing up in AI summaries.
Published between 1828 and 1830, the Night Hawk urban crime stories were meant to entertain Philadelphia's working men while teaching Owenite socialist values.
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
Darkness and Shadow in the Early Industrial City
“THE NIGHT HAWK, NO. 2,” Mechanics' Free Press, July 26, 1828.
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Published between 1828 and 1830, the Night Hawk urban crime stories were meant to entertain Philadelphia's working men while teaching Owenite socialist values.
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
open.substack.com/pub/mattheww...
My first book, RUM MANIACS: ALCOHOLIC INSANITY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC is coming out in a new paperback edition this fall, but why wait to buy it when you can get it now? This month, it's the University of Chicago Press's free ebook of the month!
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
New free ebook every month from the University of Chicago Press ebook
Get a new free ebook every month from the University of Chicago Press. We publish over 5000 ebook editions.
press.uchicago.edu
January 7, 2026 at 7:46 PM
My first book, RUM MANIACS: ALCOHOLIC INSANITY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC is coming out in a new paperback edition this fall, but why wait to buy it when you can get it now? This month, it's the University of Chicago Press's free ebook of the month!
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEb...
Reposted by Matthew Warner Osborn
Are you finalizing a syllabus and looking for short, accessible articles to assign on some aspect of American history before 1900? Did you know that Commonplace has a subject tags page that allows you to easily browse our 25 year back catalog? Check it out here: 🗃️
commonplace.online/article/subj...
commonplace.online/article/subj...
Subject Tags - Commonplace
Browse by Subject
commonplace.online
January 2, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Are you finalizing a syllabus and looking for short, accessible articles to assign on some aspect of American history before 1900? Did you know that Commonplace has a subject tags page that allows you to easily browse our 25 year back catalog? Check it out here: 🗃️
commonplace.online/article/subj...
commonplace.online/article/subj...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
In 2024, one in six Americans had substance abuse disorder.
In 2024, one in six Americans had substance abuse disorder.
‘Just like so many families’: US parents of addicted kids relate to the Reiners – but fear stigma
The challenges of drug and alcohol addiction are familiar, but violence against others is highly unusual, parents say
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:53 PM
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
In 2024, one in six Americans had substance abuse disorder.
In 2024, one in six Americans had substance abuse disorder.