Media Advisory: 212th Birthday of Millard Fillmore to be Commemorated

The University at Buffalo will once again honor its first chancellor and the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore, in a ceremony to take place at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 6, at Fillmore's gravesite in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery.

The annual outdoor ceremony will mark the 212th anniversary of Fillmore's birth. It is hosted by UB, the Forest Lawn Group and the Buffalo Club. It is free and open to the public.

The memorial address will be delivered by UB vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, A. Scott Weber.

A special wreath from the White House will be placed at the gravesite by Col. John J. Higgins, 107th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard.

The invocation will be presented by the Rev. Margaret A. O'Neall, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo. The UB Police Color Guard will present the flags. To close the ceremony, West Richter Jr., a UB student and member of the UB Marching Band, will play taps.

A reception with refreshments will follow immediately in the Forest Lawn Chapel.

Born on Jan. 7, 1800, Fillmore was instrumental in founding the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, the Buffalo Club and The Buffalo General Hospital. His activities also led to the creation of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences.

This year's commemoration marks the 47th consecutive year UB has organized the ceremony, a tradition that dates back to 1937.

From 1937 until 1965, the anniversary ceremonies were a cooperative staging by the city of Buffalo and the Buffalo Board of Education.

Media arrangements: Sara R. Saldi, onsite, at 716-597-8434.