Historical figures from the Kansas territory will come to life this month as part of the Territorial Lecture Series put on by the Hall Center for the Humanities at Kansas University.

The lectures begin today and run through Sept. 23 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Kansas territory.

“We wanted something that had some real substance to it by people who are in some cases renowned local historians,” said Victor Bailey, Hall Center director.

Each lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vt. Free boxed dinners are available at 6 p.m. with registration, which can be made by calling 864-4798.

The series schedule:

• “Political Characters in Territorial Kansas,” lecture today by Virgil Dean of the Kansas State Historical Society. Dean will discuss figures such as Missouri Sen. David Atchison; Andrew Reeder, territorial governor; abolitionist John Brown and pro-slavery Sheriff Sam Jones.
• “John Steuart Curry’s Vision of Territorial Kansas,” lecture Sept. 9 by Bill Tsutsui, KU associate professor of history, and Marjorie Swann, KU associate professor of English. Tsutsui and Swann will discuss the Kansas-born painter whose murals hang in the Statehouse.
• “Life in Kansas Territory: Toil and Turmoil from the Letters of John and Sarah Everett,” lecture Sept. 16 by Pat Michaelis of the Kansas State Historical Society. Michaelis will discuss letters written by a couple who settled near Osawatomie in 1855.
• “Crime and Violence in Douglas County, 1855-1865,” lecture Sept. 23 by Mike Hoeflich, KU professor of law, and Susanne Valdez Carey, KU associate clinical specialist of law.