and was the founding chair of The Lincoln Forum, served as its chair for 23 years, and is now chairman emeritus. Williams was president of the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Lincoln Group of Boston, and currently serves as president of The Ulysses S. Grant Association. In 2010, Williams was elected to the board of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation. Justice Williams is an Associate Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, an organization founded by Union officers who served during the American Civil War, and is also a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. Williams was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2009 as a Bicentennial Laureate. Later career Frank J. Williams stepped down from the Rhode Island Supreme Court at the end of December 2009 and has lectured at several universities and institutes, most notably at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. Williams is also an accomplished amateur chef, having appeared as a guest on the cooking show, Ciao Italia, with Mary Ann Esposito. Awards Frank J. Williams was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2009 as a Bicentennial Laureate. In 2005, Williams received The Lincoln Forum's Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement. References External links Official Secretary of State site Interview with Justice Williams about his life and literary work (the Exacting Editor) Booknotes interview with Williams on Judging Lincoln, November 10, 2002. 1940 births Living people Boston University alumni Rhode Island Republicans Boston University School of Law alumni American people of Italian descent Chief Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army officers People from Richmond, Rhode Island Historians of Abraham Lincoln Judges of the United States Court of Military Commission Review