Tennessee museum director fired for Gettysburg Address loan

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The new director of a Tennessee museum was fired from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for lending out an irreplaceable copy of the Gettysburg Address.

A Friday report by the Illinois Inspector General says Alan Lowe lent the document to Mercury One for a “pop-up museum” last year. Mercury One is a non-profit founded by political pundit Glenn Beck.

The document is one of five known copies of the Gettysburg Address written in Lincoln’s hand. It wasn’t supposed to be lent out without a unanimous vote by the Historic Preservation Agency Board of Trustees.

The inspector general found Lowe mismanaged the museum and violated policies.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Lowe started Monday with the American Museum of Science and Energy. He didn’t return a phone telephone message Tuesday.

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Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com