UB and partners to mark Millard Fillmore's 217th birthday on Friday

The University at Buffalo and community partners will celebrate the 217th anniversary of the birth of Millard Fillmore, UB's first chancellor and 13th president of the United States, with an event on Friday. Free and open to the public, ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo. Fillmore's gravesite is located in section F.

Here is a link to download a map: https://www.forest-lawn.com/plan-your-visit/map.

The event is hosted by UB, the Forest Lawn Group and the Buffalo Club. UB President Satish K. Tripathi and representatives of organizations that Fillmore helped found will present a wreath and deliver short remarks. The organizations include the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo Club, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Buffalo General Medical Center, The Buffalo History Museum, Buffalo Public Schools, Buffalo Science Museum, Hodgson Russ LLP, SPCA Serving Erie County, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo and UB.

Lt. Col. Gary Charlton, operations group commander of the 107th Air Wing of the New York Air National Guard in Niagara Falls, will present a wreath on behalf of President Barack Obama.

All guests are welcome to attend a program following the ceremony at the Buffalo Club, 388 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding. Michael T. Genco, a member and past president, will discuss the founding of the Buffalo Club. Fillmore was a founding member and its first president.

This year's commemoration marks the 52nd consecutive year UB has organized the ceremony, a tradition dating back to 1937. From 1937-65, the anniversary ceremonies were organized by Charles Templeton, a UB alumnus who worked with the city of Buffalo and the Buffalo Board of Education to program the annual events.