Buckminster Fuller American architect, systems analysis theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist Date of Birth: 12.07.1895 Country: USA

Biography of Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller, an American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, and futurist, was born on July 12, 1895, in Milton, Massachusetts. He was the great-nephew of American transcendentalist Margaret Fuller. His childhood was spent on Bear Island, near Maine, where he displayed a natural talent for seeing the world differently and a passion for creating new things. He would gather materials from the forest and make his own tools.

During his early years, Fuller faced difficulties with geometry, struggling to understand abstract concepts such as a point. However, this early experience not only developed his interest in design but also helped him realize his most ambitious projects. He studied at Milton Academy and later enrolled at Harvard University, though he was expelled twice. The first time was for spending all his savings on a dance troupe, and the second time for "irresponsibility and lack of interest."

Fuller served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. In 1917, he married Anne Hewlett. In the early 1920s, he and a relative devised a construction system for lightweight, all-weather, and fire-resistant homes, but their efforts ended in failure by 1927. After the tragedy of his daughter Alexandra's death from complications of polio and spinal meningitis in 1922, Fuller felt a sense of guilt. He believed that her illness resulted from high humidity and constant drafts in their home. This led him to develop his own construction system.

Following bankruptcy, unemployment, the birth of his daughter Allegra, and struggles with alcoholism, Fuller found himself at rock bottom. It was only by challenging himself to make a positive impact on the world that he was able to overcome suicidal thoughts. In 1928, Fuller moved to Greenwich Village, where he formed a lifelong friendship with Isamu Noguchi. He taught at a college in North Carolina and collaborated with students and professors on the project that would make him famous – the geodesic dome.

In 1945, Fuller built one of his first models at Bennington College in Vermont, where he often lectured. In 1949, the first aluminum geodesic dome was constructed, and over the next few years, thousands of these structures were built worldwide. Fuller believed that in the near future, humanity would rely on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. His project "Cloud nine" envisioned the construction of alternative dwellings in the form of large geodesic spheres that would float above the ground using heated air.

Throughout his life, Fuller obtained 25 patents, and his contributions to architecture, design, and systems thinking were recognized internationally. He passed away on July 1, 1983, in Los Angeles. The new allotropes of carbon, known as fullerenes, were named in his honor due to their resemblance to his geodesic structures.