Habit Forming: Drug Addiction in mid-19th century Philadelphia

May 16, 2023

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm



Dr. Kelly Gray will explore the history of habitual drug use, focusing on opiate use and addiction in mid-19th century Philadelphia. Our current exhibit at Cliveden, The Turmoil of Transition, discusses how addiction affected the lives of those at Cliveden during the mid-19th century. Dr. Gray is a professor of history at Towson University and author of the new book Habit Forming: Drug Addiction in America 1776-1914 which explores the history of habitual drug use the era when drug sales were almost entirely unregulated and how racism and classism shaped perceptions of drug use and addiction.

This program will be held on Zoom and is free to the public. Registrants will receive the Zoom program link on May 16th via email. If you do not receive the link, please contact Jocelyn Rouse at [email protected]. To register for Habit Forming, click here.

Program Speaker: Elizabeth Kelly Gray, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Gray earned her PhD from the College of William and Mary in 2002. Her research interests are American history in an international context in the early national and antebellum eras, focusing on cultural history, and diplomatic history, with particular interest in the history of addiction and American foreign relations, broadly defined.