lcugini@gso.uri.edu
Explores the Lighthouses of Narragansett Bay
Narragansett, RI — May 12, 2003 — Part of the beauty of Narragansett Bay is its history, and what better way to reflect on the history of a body of water than to observe its lighthouses.
Douglas Bingham, former member of the Board of Directors of the American Lighthouse Foundation, will present a free public lecture on Historic Lightships of the Southern New England Coast and Lighthouses of Narragansett Bay. Sponsored by the äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ Friends of Oceanography, the lecture will take place in the Coastal Institute Auditorium on the äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ Bay Campus in Narragansett on Tuesday, May 20, at Noon.
Bingham will focus on the lightships of New England and Narragansett Bay, as well as the lighthouses of Narragansett Bay with an emphasis on the Dutch Island and Plum Beach lights.
A native of Quincy, Massachusetts, Bingham attended Norfolk County Agricultural High School, in Walpole, Mass. He is a US Navy Veteran, having served with the US Mine Force as part of the Atlantic Fleet. He is the cofounder of the New England Lighthouse Foundation and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Lighthouse Foundation from 1995-2002. He is a historian for the US Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association and helped assemble and build a website dedicated to the history of lightships. He has conducted research on lighthouses for several noted writers in the lighthouse community. Bingham has received several service awards, most notably the USCG Meritorious Public Service Commendation and the Keeper of the Light Award from the American Lighthouse Foundation.
The American Lighthouse Foundation is a nonprofit, tax exempt, all-volunteer organization that exists to preserve and protect the lighthouses of New England and the US. One of the organization’s projects is to raise funds to preserve the long-neglected Dutch Island Lighthouse in Narragansett Bay near the äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ Bay Campus. The foundation’s Web site is located at