AUBURN — The eventful life of one of Lewiston’s most illustrious citizens will be the topic of a lecture at the Androscoggin Historical Society meeting on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. in the Court Street Baptist Church meeting hall, 129 Court St.

David C. Garcelon, a retired surveyor who lives in Harpswell, will share his insight into the contributions of his great-great-grandfather, Alonzo Garcelon, who was a physician, legislator and governor of Maine.

Dr. Garcelon was born in Lewiston in 1813 to French Huguenot parents. He was graduated from Bowdoin College and the Medical College of Ohio, and returned to Lewiston to practice. Among his achievements, he co-founded the Lewiston Journal in 1847.

He was instrumental in bringing Bates College to Lewiston in 1855 and was an instructor and longtime trustee at the college. Garcelon Field is named after Dr. Garcelon, as is the Alonzo Garcelon Society, which provides scholarships to Bates for local students.

During the Civil War, Dr. Garcelon served in the Union Army as Maine’s surgeon general. He served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives and one in the Maine State Senate, and was an unsuccessful congressional candidate in 1871. That same year he was elected mayor of Lewiston, and in 1879 he was elected 36th governor of Maine by the legislature. After running unsuccessfully for reelection, Dr. Garcelon retired from political life, returned to his medical practice, and became involved in the American Medical Association. He died in 1906 at the age of 93, and was buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Lewiston.

The public is invited to attend the lecture without charge.

The society’s annual meeting and election of officers will precede the lecture, beginning with a social gathering at 5:30, when participants can view recent society acquisitions and make purchases at book displays. Four on a Match, a women’s barbershop quartet, will provide entertainment. A roast pork dinner will be served at 6 p.m.; the cost is $12 per person. Dinner reservations must be made and paid for by 2 p.m. Friday, May 18. The public is welcome. For more information call 784-0586.