George Rollie Adams

Adams’s latest books are Found in Pieces and South of Little Rock, historical novels set during the civil rights movement. Between them, they have received ten awards for independently published historical and social issues fiction. His previous published works include Ordinary People and Everyday Life, co-edited with James B. Gardner (American Association for State and Local History, 1980); Nashville: A Pictorial History, co-authored with Ralph Jerry Christian (The Donning Company, 1981, 1988); and General William S. Harney: Prince of Dragoons (University of Nebraska Press, 2001). He contributed forewords to David Carr, The Promise of Cultural Institutions (New York: AltaMira Press, 2003) and Scott G. Eberle, Classic Toys of the National Toy Hall of Fame (Running Press, 2009).

During the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s, Adams held several positions at the American Association for State and Local History, including director of the National Historic Landmarks Project and director of Education. He then served two years as executive director of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society in New York State and two years jointly as director of the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans and assistant secretary for Culture, Recreation, and Tourism for the State of Louisiana.

George Rollie Adams (born September 11, 1941), is an American educator, historian, author, and museum professional. As president and CEO of The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, from 1987 through 2016, Adams led the development of the world’s first collections-based history museum devoted solely to the study of play and its critical role in learning and human development and the ways in which play illuminates cultural history. During his tenure, The Strong became home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, electronic games, and other artifacts and documents pertaining to the history of play. The Strong also acquired the National Toy Hall of Fame and established the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, World Video Game Hall of Fame, Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, Woodbury School, and American Journal of Play.