Pyrrhus Concer’s 200th

    The Southampton Historical Museum will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Pyrrhus Concer on Saturday at the Rogers Mansion with an afternoon of free programs devoted to the man who was born a slave in Southampton in 1814 and died a philanthropist in 1897.

    Concer was a boat-steerer on whaling expeditions and the first African-American to visit Japan. His estate benefited distressed sailors and local schoolchildren. One of Southampton’s most highly regarded citizens in the 19th century, he has been all but forgotten today, according to the museum.

    The celebration will begin at 2 p.m. with the proclamation by Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. of March 17 as Pyrrhus Concer Day in New York State. A lecture by Sally Spanburgh on “Pyrrhus Concer the Man” will follow at 2:10.

    Brenda Simmons, director of the African-American Museum of the East End, Georgette Grier-Key, director of the Eastville Historical Society, and Lucius Ware of the N.A.A.C.P. will join Ms. Spanburgh for a panel discussion at 3.

    A party with live jazz, poetry readings, and refreshments will begin at 4.