Jacque Fresco facts for kids
Jacque Fresco (born March 13, 1916 – died May 18, 2017) was an American futurist and social engineer. A futurist is someone who studies and predicts what might happen in the future. A social engineer designs ways to improve society. Fresco taught himself many things and worked in different jobs related to industrial design.
He wrote and gave talks about his ideas for cities that are good for the environment, using energy wisely, managing natural resources, and how technology and science can help society. He led a project called The Venus Project. He believed in a global system called a "resource-based economy," where resources are shared, and money is not needed.
Quick facts for kids
Jacque Fresco
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| Born | March 13, 1916 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
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| Died | May 18, 2017 (aged 101) Sebring, Florida, U.S.
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| Occupation | Futurist, social engineer, structural engineer, architectural designer, industrial designer, author, lecturer |
| Known for | The Venus Project, resource-based economy ideas. |
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Notable work
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Looking Forward (1969), The Best That Money Can't Buy (2002) |
Contents
Early Life and Interests
Jacque Fresco was born on March 13, 1916, in New York City. He grew up in a Jewish family in Brooklyn. His father was a farmer from Turkey, and his mother was from Jerusalem.
As a teenager during the Great Depression, Fresco often talked with his friends about science and the future. He was very interested in new ideas and how technology could change the world. He left home at age 14 and traveled around by hitchhiking and riding trains.
Career Highlights
Working in Aircraft Design
In the late 1930s, Fresco worked at Douglas Aircraft Company in California. He designed new types of aircraft, including a "flying wing" and a disk-shaped plane. However, his ideas were considered too advanced for the time and were not used. He left Douglas because he disagreed with their design choices.
Later, in 1942, Fresco joined the U.S. Army. He worked on technical designs for the Army Air Forces. One of his designs was a special wing that could change its shape during flight to help pilots control the plane better.
Designing Affordable Homes
In 1948, Fresco was asked to design homes that would be cheap to build. He created a project house called the Trend Home. It was made mostly of aluminum and glass. This house was shown in Hollywood for three months, and people could tour it.
The goal was to mass-produce these homes to make housing affordable for many people. However, the project did not get enough funding and never went into mass production. This experience taught Fresco that society needed to change for his inventions to truly help people.
Scientific Research and Inventions
In the late 1940s, Fresco started Scientific Research Laboratories in Los Angeles. Here, he gave lectures and taught technical design. He also worked as an inventor and scientific consultant, researching new ideas. He faced challenges getting money for his research. In 1955, he moved to Miami, Florida, after his laboratory was taken down to build a freeway.
In Miami, Fresco designed circular cities. He also worked as an industrial designer for different companies. In 1961, he helped design the "Sandwich House," which used many pre-made parts and aluminum to build homes for a low cost. From 1955 to 1969, he called his social ideas "Project Americana."
Sharing His Vision
Looking Forward Book
In 1969, Jacque Fresco co-wrote a book called Looking Forward with Ken Keyes Jr. This book looked at what the future might be like. The authors imagined a society where people had everything they needed, and there was no need for work or owning many things. They believed people could focus on their own happiness.
Sociocyberneering and Research Center
Fresco created an organization called "Sociocyberneering" to share his ideas. He gave lectures in Florida and appeared on radio and television. Later, he bought land in rural Venus, Florida, to build his home and a research center. This became the main place for his work and ideas.
The Venus Project
In 1985, Fresco and his partner, Roxanne Meadows, founded The Venus Project. This project is a vision for a future society where resources are shared globally, and technology is used to improve life for everyone. They believe this system would solve many of the world's problems, like poverty, war, and environmental damage.
Fresco and Meadows supported The Venus Project by working as freelance inventors and industrial designers. In 2008, Fresco's ideas were shown in a film called Zeitgeist Addendum. This helped many more people learn about his vision. Fresco and Meadows traveled worldwide to promote The Venus Project. In 2012, a film called Future My Love also featured their work.
Personal Life
Jacque Fresco's parents were immigrants from the Middle East. His father was a farmer from Istanbul, and his mother was from Jerusalem. He had two siblings, Freda and David.
Fresco was married twice. He had a son, Richard, and a daughter, Bambi, with his second wife. He remained unmarried after his second divorce in 1957.
Jacque Fresco passed away peacefully on May 18, 2017, at his home in Florida, at the age of 101. Roxanne Meadows worked with Fresco since 1976 and continues to manage The Venus Project.
Awards
In July 2016, Jacque Fresco received an award from the Novus Summit for his ideas on City Design and Community. The Novus Summit is supported by the United Nations.
Books
- Looking Forward (1969) co-authored with Kenneth Keyes
- Introduction to Sociocyberneering (1977)
- Sociocyberneering Presents Cities in Transition (1978)
- Sociocyberneering Presents the Determinants of Behavior (1978)
- Structural Systems and Systems of Structure (1979)
- The Venus Project: The Redesign of a Culture (1995)
- And The World Will Be One (1997)
Films
- The Venus Project: The Redesign of a Culture (1994)
- Welcome To The Future (2001)
- Cities In The Sea (2002)
- Self-erecting Structures (2002)
- Future By Design (2006)
- Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008)
Images for kids
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Jacque Fresco
See also
In Spanish: Jacque Fresco para niños
