Freedom, kindness, and beauty: The legacy of Obert C. Tanner - Mark Matheson and Scott Black
The Virtual Jewel Box
May 27, 2025
31 min
This episode explores Obert C. Tanner’s life and legacy, which includes the Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center and the Tanner Lectures on Human Values. Mark Matheson, Lecturer in English at the University of Utah and Director of the Tanner Lectures on Human Values, discusses Obert’s remarkable journey from poverty to philanthropy, including his upbringing by his extraordinary mother, Annie Clark Tanner, who used J.S. Mill’s On Liberty as a parenting guide.
Links:
Obert C. Tanner, One Man’s Journey: In Search of Freedom Annie Clark Tanner, A Mormon Mother: An Autobiography
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
The Tanner Lectures on Human Values
Episode edited by Ethan Rauschkolb. Named after our seminar room, The Virtual Jewel Box hosts conversations at the Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah. Views expressed on The Virtual Jewel Box do not represent the official views of the Center or University.
