Stewart Brand

Date of Birth: December 14, 1938

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Biography

Stewart Brand is an American writer, best known for his work in the fields of environmental activism and technology. Born on December 14, 1938, in Rockford, Illinois, Brand is a prominent figure in the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, a publication that provided tools and ideas to support sustainable living and self-sufficiency. The catalog became an iconic resource for the back-to-the-land movement and won the National Book Award in 1972. Brand’s advocacy for environmental responsibility and innovation has extended into various projects and organizations. He co-founded the WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link), one of the earliest online communities, and the Long Now Foundation, which encourages long-term thinking in the framework of the next 10,000 years. Brand has also been involved with Global Business Network and has authored several influential books, including “The Clock of the Long Now” and “Whole Earth Discipline.”

5 Interesting Facts about Stewart Brand

1. Stewart Brand was a key advocate for the first NASA images of the Earth from space, famously asking, “Why haven’t we seen a photograph of the whole Earth yet?”

2. He served in the U.S. Army as a parachutist before attending Stanford University, where he studied biology.

3. Brand is considered a pioneer in the field of digital communities and cyberspace, having co-founded the WELL in 1985.

4. In addition to his environmental work, Brand has been a strong proponent of de-extinction, the process of reviving extinct species.

5. He famously coined the phrase, “We are as gods and might as well get good at it,” highlighting the potential and responsibility humans have in shaping the future.