Professor of American History, University of Edinburgh. Author (with Peter S. Onuf) of Thomas Jefferson Survives: American Independence in His Time and Ours (Liveright, 2026).https://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mlnczhpyw22iI had to get some blood drawn (hat tip to the National Health Service!). Chatting with the phlebotomist and she asked me what I do. When I said, "I'm a U.S. historian," she replied, "Oh, you're all going to have a big ball for your birthday soon!" #semiquincentennial12 May 2026 07:59 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnczhpyw22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mlltqx2vjk22Looking at some largely forgotten 19thc. histories of the American Revolution (for a possible new project). Came across this gem from George Otto Trevelyan (vol 1 pp. 1-2): 1/11 May 2026 17:53 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlltqx2vjk22https://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mlgebuugdc2sSaturday's bath day for #BellaDogliano.09 May 2026 13:33 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgebuugdc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mlawzfnuys2kVoted this morning. In and out in five minutes. Much simpler than in the US. No machines, just a couple of ballots and a pencil, old-school, artisanal voting. Put an X on the ballot and drop it in the box. Thanks to the folks working at the polls. They're the building blocks of civilization.07 May 2026 09:52 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlawzfnuys2khttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mlawxiwy5k2kVoted this morning. In and out in five minutes. Much simpler than in the US. No machines, just a couple of ballots and a pencil, old-school, artisanal voting. Put an X on the ballot and drop it in the box. Thanks to the folks working at the polls. They're the building blocks of civilization.07 May 2026 09:51 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlawxiwy5k2khttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3ml7ekiw3nk2nWho could have predicted that telling people they're unwelcome in your country and threatening to vet their social media accounts while the most corrupt organization in world sport gouges ticket prices would depress demand?06 May 2026 18:49 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7ekiw3nk2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkxxj2lar22fNice surprise waiting for me when I got home. Launching next month!03 May 2026 20:07 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkxxj2lar22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkxesxgx4s2rThe British state has no idea what to do with the "Jr" after my name. USians: if you think your kids might want to live abroad, spare them a lifetime of confusion and refrain from giving them name suffixes! (It does mean my nieces and nephews can call me "Uncle Junior."03 May 2026 14:33 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkxesxgx4s2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkwprxycjs2t"One time, one place, one person." The monument to the Danes who've served abroad since 1948 is very powerful. The section with the names of those who died in service, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, is very moving.03 May 2026 08:16 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkwprxycjs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkwon3oiqk2tI like a simple menu. Do a few things well. Three unspecified sandwiches, please.03 May 2026 07:56 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkwon3oiqk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkswmuf2vk2tMay Day in one of Copenhagen's oldest bars. We meant to go to Malmö but the train was cancelled. When I told the barman that he said, "You couldn't go to Sweden? It's your lucky day!"01 May 2026 20:08 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkswmuf2vk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkq27oq2ds2rEvery staff room should have a jigsaw puzzle. Well played American Studies, @sdu.dk.30 Apr 2026 16:34 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkq27oq2ds2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkpzw5hmis2rGreat day at the University of Southern Denmark discussing the semiquincentennial, history wars, and much else. Yeah, I gesticulated wildly and spilled water all over the podium.30 Apr 2026 16:29 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpzw5hmis2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkkaf47nxs2xAs a UK citizen, they never should have gone. The administration has been too disrespectful of the UK in recent months. As a US citizen, they never should have been invited for the semiquincentennial. As a (new) Scot, I'll make popcorn and laugh.28 Apr 2026 09:09 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkkaf47nxs2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkftmvjl4k2dThis view always impresses. Reminded of the time I asked my Finnish daughter-in-law if she'd seen the castle. She asked, "What castle?" I pointed it out and she said, "Oh, the house on the hill! It's not really a castle is it?" That is a truth that Edinburgh folk refuse to admit.26 Apr 2026 15:10 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkftmvjl4k2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkdmduxt5c2jIf you say you have all the cards, you usually don't.25 Apr 2026 17:54 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkdmduxt5c2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mkbkldxl2k2pWalking home with the haar rolling in (so visibility was poor). See a guy sitting on the kerb ahead of me, apparently hunched over. We're the only ones around. I fish through my pockets for a pound coin in case I need it. It's a forlorn hope, who carries cash anymore? 1/24 Apr 2026 22:17 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbkldxl2k2phttps://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mk63uyq4bc23Honored to report that I'll be the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Senior Fellow in Political History, the Presidency, and Constitutional Thought at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon from July - December 2026.23 Apr 2026 13:16 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk63uyq4bc23https://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mjzvzs7jpk24This is the most Boston way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. (I'll be discussing it on BBC Radio Scotland tomorrow morning at 7:50.)21 Apr 2026 21:21 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjzvzs7jpk24https://bsky.app/profile/frankcogliano.bsky.social/post/3mjw3xtbnvc2kHome after three weeks on the road. Thousands of miles, 7 states and 2 provinces, hundreds of prospective students and alumni. Great colleagues, and kind strangers. Saw siblings and friends (old and new). A parade, and a book launch. Snow in Toronto, mid-summer heat in Washington. Lots of laughs.20 Apr 2026 08:57 +0000at://did:plc:5t4mn2o7o3p6c3nnwomk4obl/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjw3xtbnvc2k