Benjamin Franklin's Snake Device, 1754, printed in the  Pennsylvania Gazette just prior to the Albany Congress,  was the first newspaper cartoon published in British America.

The Lawrence Henry Gipson Institute is governed by an interdisciplinary faculty Council, of which two members serve as co-directors.  Its program includes such research activities as an annual dissertation fellowship for a Lehigh PhD candidate and research grants to Lehigh faculty and students working on projects dealing with the eighteenth century; symposia and lectures by visiting scholars; and publications.  For more information about the Gipson Institute, follow the links to additional webpages or contact one of the co-directors: Prof. Monica Najar at mon2@lehigh.edu or (610) 758-4424; or Prof. Scott Paul Gordon at spg4@lehigh.edu  or (610) 758-3320.