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WELCOME! Please enjoy this timeline. It is in 4 parts: 1) Jacque Fresco (1916-Present) 2) The Venus Project (1980-Present) 3) TVP Global (2011-Present) 4) Future Projections (2013+) All data before 2020 has been verified & approved by Jacque Fresco & Roxanne Meadows.
Fresco’s father, an agriculturalist born in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey; Jacque’s father was born nearly 43 years before the collapse of the Ottoman Empire), was laid off almost immediately after the onset of the Great Depression. His mother Lena, who emigrated from Jerusalem, was a stay-at-home mom who took up freelance sewing to make money. He had an older brother and a younger sister.
“The advantage of a high school education escaped him, a most fortunate quirk of destiny, for it was that very fact that contributed to his genius; I always suspected that the lack of a formal education was what made him an authentic original.” - Jack Catran - Walden Three
People came from all over the world and made America. He said, “An Arab named Algebra gave us algebra. Egyptians had the earliest large library and they gave us a lot of wonderful ideas in mathematics. So did the Arabs.” And so he told me that if you pledge allegiance to one country, you're not giving the other counties the credit. So I accepted that. It made sense to me. He said, “If you really like people, if you really want to help the world, pledge allegiance to the Earth and everyone on it.” Don't dump poisons into the rivers, and try to benefit the lives of all people. In that area my grandfather was okay. In other areas he wasn't. But I liked that, so I refused to pledge allegiance to the flag. When the teacher said, “all the children are going to pledge allegiance to the flag,” I refused because of my grandfather. He influenced me differently.
After seeing The Ten Commandments by Cecil B. DeMille in 1923 (age 7) and learning of atheism from his brother David, Jacque began to explore other religions and ultimately he drifted away from religion. Jacque exposed his friends to the ideas he learned as well and was introducing them to science at an early age. These were friends he had his entire life. This was certainly the case at age 15 when Jack Catran first met Jacque.
Jacque: “It just looked incorrect, when I saw the original Cecil B. DeMille 10 Commandments. I think I may have been 8 or 9. After coming out of the theater, I went to my older brother and I said, “I don't understand why the Egyptians didn't believe in our god.” He said, “Well maybe they were atheists.” I said, “What's an atheist?” He told me a little bit about evolution. I said, “That makes a lot of sense.” As a kid, it made much more sense than the stories I've heard from the bible.”
“When I was about 12 years old I was looking at a gear on a table. And I saw the cities of the future. I think all inventions are based on experiences like that; I don't think they come out of nowhere.”
Jacque refused to pledge allegiance to the flag with other classmates. He was taken by the ear to see the Principal, Issac Bildersee. The principal excused the teacher and asked Jacque why that everyone does, and listened to his answer with the examples Jacque’s grandfather provided. Fresco also told him that everyone once thought the earth was flat but that doesn’t make it so. It doesn't make any difference what everyone believes. He let Jacque express his view further after he asked what he thought about his the educational process and the teaching of history for example. Jacque asked if he could be honest and explained how all in the history books always did the “right” thing they didn’t look like real people and that people learn from making mistakes. The principal called his mother in to tell her he was going to take Jacque to the store and buy him lab equipment, and take him to the library to get the books he wanted to read. He then roped off the back of the class and let Jacque study on his own with the requirement of reporting to him what he was learning. This privilege was eventually taken away and Jacque left school several months after that to further his education at the public library and museums.
“I wanted to know how airplanes fly, as a kid, on this thin substance. I could not understand it. So I asked my mother and father and my relatives. They had no information. So I finally went to the library and got out a book called The Wright Brothers. And I was very anxious, because for years I wanted to know. I opened that book with great anxiety. And it starts out, “It was a sunny day in May, and Mrs. Orville Wright was hanging clothing on the line.” I didn't want to know that. That bothered me. And I had to go through the whole book most of it being was sunny day in May. And near the end of the book they killed a pigeon and they put wiring in its wings to keep them extended. And they moved the wings up and back to find the center of gravity, and launched it. That was information. Then when I went back to school and looked at the books, most of them were sunny day in May. A lot of propaganda and little information. So I began to read, and scratch the irrelevant information – the sunny day in May – and look for substance.” - Jacque
It was during that period when, while swinging on a bar at a playground, the young Fresco fell over and split his lip. “I held it together, and ran to the nearest doctor,” Fresco says. “The first thing he said is: ‘Your father working?’” Fresco eventually paid the doctor by building several cabinets for him. An impoverished childhood directly affected Jacque’s attitudes towards society.
Jacque at age 14 witnessed the cops stopping on the Brooklyn Bridge where someone was passed out drunk. Jacque was behind a pillar and heard them talk about how he would probably throw up in the car and mess it up, so they picked him up and threw him off to his death. This was during the depression and helped to shape Jacque’s attitudes of how economic conditions change values and behaviors of people.
Jacque: “ I played hooky for six weeks after leaving school. And the truant officer was sitting on my doorsteps when I came home. I always left home with books, but I never went to school. He said, “You haven't been to school for a month.” I said, “Six weeks.” He said, “What do you do when you're not in school? I go to the science museum; I go to the library and I read what I want to read.” He said, “What do you do at home?” I replied, “I have a little lab.” He mentioned, “Can I see it?” I said, “Under one condition that you don't tell my mother who you are. Otherwise there's going to be trouble.” So he agreed.” I showed him my lab, and he stated, “What you're doing is good. I can't criticize you. But you can do me a favor if you want to. Show up Monday, just to show that I did my job. Then you can play continue as you are doing.” He was a nice guy – very young. And he understood my intentions, which was very rare. So did the principal. A rather unusual thing. I did check in at school as he requested but did not go back after that.”
Jacque met Jack Catran at the age of 15. Catran published Walden Three in 1988. Following on the technical and ideological orientation of Jacque Fresco. Walden Two, was a 422 page science fiction scenario with occasional sections of biographical memoir, both of which centered on the life and philosophy of Jacque Fresco via pseudonymous protagonist "Jack Tedesco." Catran dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles about 1941. He began teaching technical illustration and perspective drawing at the Van Nuys High School, Van Nuys Adult School, and San Fernando High School where he employed experimental psychology techniques in his methods.
Jacque was fascinated by aircraft and once walked hours to an airport when he was young to see a real airplane only to find near the airport there was a river in-between. This gave him a hunger. Later he “Visited relatives and they took me to see an airplane in Ventnor, PA.” Not being able to have full access to airplanes when he was young instilled a motivation to look for more information. Jacque went to the library and read everything he could on airplanes and design. Jacque then started designing aircraft and making many models of various aircraft designs starting a life time of designing aircraft.
Jacque entered a contest when he was young and imitated different accents in each nationality, chiseling for a price of a bucket of apples to show that they all do it. He won and was supposed to get a monetary prize and they said you want a job or the money. He said a job and they never followed through and he did not get any money. One of the first introductions to the free enterprise system.
One day I noticed Albert Einstein exiting a theater so I walked up to him and asked if I could visit with him. He questioned this but with my reply he allowed me the visit. He lived in an ordinary house. And I asked if he was interested in social change. That was the first thing I asked. He said, “I'm a socialist.” But he said when he left Germany, his friends told him not to talk about socialism. They'd ship him right back to Germany. So I asked him a lot of questions like, “Do you believe in god and he said “Which one?” then I asked, “Do you believe in truth?” He said, “What do you mean by truth?” “That certain things are a certain way.” I pointed to a metal and said this is smooth – that's true. When he put it under a microscope, it looked very rough. So I said, “Is that what it's really like? He said, “No.” And he enlarged it more and it looked like slivers. I said, “Is that what it's really like?” He said, “We can’t see things as they really are. We can only see things with the range of our receptors.” - Jacque Fresco
During the Great Depression there were many people speaking in the street on soap boxes. “I heard a man talking about Communism. He looked at me and said, “Go away sonny boy this is not for you.” There were all adults there. So I said, I want to hear what you've got to say.” He said, “Why.” I stated, “Because I don't believe what the Democrats say about the Republicans, or the Republicans say about the Democrats, and what they say about communism. I want to hear what Communism is from a communist.” “Where can I get more information.” He said, “Go to the YCL.” I replied, “What's that.” He said, “the Young Communist League.” I said, “Where are they?” He gave me an address and I went there. And there were kids there about 7 to about 19. And they were reading very deep books, all these kids. And they were talking sensibly. So I said gee they're very different than other kids. So after the meeting, I raised my hand and said, “How are you going to prevent corruption under communism?” They replied, “Well we're all good people.” I said, “I don't doubt that, but how will you prevent corruption?” They stated, “Well when that time comes we'll work on it.” I said, “How are you going to prevent people taking advantage of other people, and living in bigger houses? And how are you going to house the masses of people?” They said, “Oh when that time comes we'll work on it.” I said, “Let's start a technical branch at the Communist Party and work on these things now.” They proclaimed, “You're a deviationist.” I said, “What's that?” They said, “You're deviating from the teachings of Marx.” I said, “I'm trying to add things.” They said, “You'll have to leave” So the vice-president of the Young Communist League said, “Let's hear him out.” And they asked us both to leave. I was not trying to harm them. I was trying to add something. The vice president and I stayed friends until he died.” - Jacque Fresco
“When I was about 18 and in a hardware store, I noticed that when women walked down the street in high heels the guys inside the store would walk outside to see what was coming down the street. So I got some friends of mine together and I made a record of a girl walking down the street – just the heels. Then we played it outside the store that brought the men outside. That's when I began to think mechanistically – that people do not respond to the real world but they respond to associative memory.” - Jacque Fresco
“As I was hitch-hiking to Florida, I saw an old man walking with his worldly goods on his shoulder in a blanket at the end of a stick. And he was shuffling very slowly. So I called out to him. I wanted to help him carry that load because he could hardly walk. I called out several times – he seemed also hard of hearing. When he turned around I could see he had a severe case of acromegaly – elephant man disease. His face was all distorted. And as a kid I didn't know what that was. I was kind of shocked by that and kept walking. I got to the nearest police station and asked if I could sleep there. They agreed after first finger printing me to make sure I was not wanted for anything. They gave me a cell to sleep in which was dirty and stained so I slept on the floor. I heard a lot of painful moaning and looked over to see the distorted man I had seen in the street locked in a cell. I called for the trustee and told him this man needs to be in a hospital not a jail. He told me he was just a no good bum they picked up on the streets. I felt this guy had no soul.” - Jacque Fresco
At the age of 18, Jacque is already designing at a professional level.
Jacque moves to California.
Jacque established the Scientific Research Laboratories in Elysian Park, Los Angeles. Later moved to Los Feliz, near Hollywood, to his home where he also gave lectures, and taught technical illustration. Jacque also researched and worked on inventions as a freelance inventor and scientific consultant. This was a prolific time for Jacque regarding invention. During this time he worked on 3D viewing instrument, 3D movie screen without glasses, new designs for lamps, rulers, desks, cabinets, homes, medical devices, electrostatic devices to dispense with rudders, ailerons and flaps for aircraft and many other things.
Fresco traveled to Hawaii in late 1939. From Hawaii he traveled to the South Sea Islands where he interacted with native islanders. Jacque says that his visit to these islands effectively helped shape his understanding of cultural relativism and the flexibility of human values in alternate environments. After returning to California, Jacque took residence at various locations in Hermosa Beach and throughout Los Angeles, meanwhile continuing industrial design projects for various companies.
In California, Jacque found work at Northrop Division of Douglas Aircraft Company after presenting alternative aircraft designs. Jacque’s alternative designs included both flying wings and a disk-shaped aircraft, which he designed in the early 1930’s. Jacque encountered resistance to some of his aircraft designs. But he made hundreds of designs for aircraft structures including safety devices and the the chief draftsman who hired him, Jim Ford, mentioned, “You’ve made more contributions to aviation in the first three weeks than the history of aviation.” Jacque did not agree with certain parts of the Bernoulli Principle. The person in charge did not want to hear “anything this kid has to say.” Jacque said the DB7 has a tendency to flat spin and told this to Ford but the chief aerodynamicist, Dr. Klien, did not listen. The DB7 crashed on a test flight, the pilot was killed and another passenger was injured. Both Jacque & Ford were asked to resign because they pointed out the inadequacies of the plane previously, it seemed to be easier to ask them to resign then to take the blame. Jacque also designed anti-icing electrostatic equipment for aircraft wings, aircraft wheels that spin from wind before landing to save the rubber from burning off on impact, the door that opens to stairs and many others.
The technocracy movement is a social movement which arose in the early 20th century. Technocracy was popular in the USA for a brief period in the early 1930s, it thrived during the Great Depression. The technocrats proposed replacing politicians and business people with scientists and engineers who had the technical expertise to manage the economy. Jacque’s designs appears in a technocracy magazine several times. Jacque resigned after several months after conversing with Scott, the chief engineer, when he stated to Jacque that the oriental mind could not grasp technology and that “negros” ought to start their own section if they were interested.
In 1942, Jacque was drafted into the United States Army. He was soon given technical design duties for the Army Air Force at Wright Field design laboratories in Dayton, Ohio. There he would produce many designs, of which one was a "radical variable camber wing" with which he attempted to optimize flight control by allowing the pilot to adjust the thickness of the wings during lift and flight. It received a patent and was thereafter given to the Army Air Force. Jacque had many advanced ideas for airplane aviation and this gained him a reputation in the aircraft industry for being "a man twenty years ahead of his time."
“Bucky Fuller invited me for a ride in his Dymaxion car. I asked him what Dymaxion meant. He said, “The highest form that can be attained.” He invented the word because there was no word for that. Bucky invented whenever language was useful to him. We got in the car and it took off, he had a V-8 engine in it and it had a rear wheel with square windows. It was streamlined as compared to other cars. And I was very impressed. And he said, “This car has a lot of pick up. ...Women too.” He would drive by and women would look at the car. He was sort of a strange guy, Bucky Fuller. In his office he put a telephone on the end of a long pivoted projection so he could move it from one desk to the other. And then he had an idea which he showed me where a blimp carries a bomb over an area and drops it to blast a hole, and that's the foundation for the building. I said, “Bucky, we can put the bomb in the ground like dynamite and blow the hole. You don't need a blimp to drop it. And he said, “I'm older than you.” He also had the Dymaxion house at the time. It was made by Beach Aircraft Company. It was a prefabricated unit. I mentioned it was similar to a merry-go-round suspended from a pole with cables. He said, “Yeah, that's where I got the idea. I said, “So then you believe that all ideas are serially developed?” He said, “Yes they are, to a large extent.” But he also believed he was a mystic in regards to invention. He felt he was here for a purpose to benefit people. And he gave me a book that he wrote called Nine Chains to the Moon – a very influential book. It gave me a way of picturing things that I couldn't picture before that. He said, “If you took everybody on Earth and stood them head over heel, they would make nine chains to the moon.” That gave me a way of picturing vast numbers and vast systems, they were only numerical before that.” - Jacque Fresco
“And in his book, he talked of the Earth. He said, “A lot of people say they wouldn't travel on a spaceship, but we're on a spaceship traveling through the universe.” He coined the term, “Spaceship Earth.” I thought that was magnificent. He had a great many things like that. And I said, “Do you know anything about Technocracy?” He said, “Why yes. That's an impractical idea that would never work.” I said, “What's the matter with it?” He said, “It's authoritarian.” And then he said to me, “You see that person over there?” and he was telling me all about people without knowing them. I said, “How do you do that?” He said, “You can tell by the shape of their head.” Phrenology. I had a problem with that. And I said, “Well, I wouldn't be that sure if I were you, because I would talk to them first. Give them a chance to fit into that category. Maybe you're right. But talk to them because environment does have a lot of effect on people.” And he said, “No. There are some people that are takers and some that are givers, and some that are conformists,” and he went on with a lot of that kind of thing at that time. And that was unacceptable to me. I also tried to talk about social ideas with him at the time I couldn't get anywhere at all.” - Jacque Fresco
This aluminum home could be built by 10 men in 8 hours. It was backed by Earl Muntz, Mike Shaw and others. It was exhibited at Warner Brothers Studios to many thousands of people.
Jacque and his ideas are featured in hundrends of major newspapers, magazines, radio shows and television. "I owe a great deal to people from many disciplines who contributed to this vision. People like Jacques Loeb, Jules Verne, Edward Bellamy, Howard Scott, Thorstein Veblen, H. G. Wells, Sir Jagardis Chunder Bose, Alfred Korzybski, Walter B. Cannon,Stuart Chase, Clarence Darrow, Arthur C. Clarke, Mark Twain, Carl Sagan and others too numerous to mention." - Jacque Fresco
Jacque is commissioned by Hollywood producers Jack Moss to develop technology for viewing 3D images without the use of glasses. It was presented to Technicolor, and they expressed interest but were unsatisfied with the image fading at 30°. They said, “Get it bigger and call us.” Moss mentioned, “We need your backing now, if we got it finished we wouldn’t need to call you.” Moss did not have enough funding to carry it further. The project stopped.
Written by Frank Scully who had met Jacque and viewed his designs 10 years before. He was also aware of Jacque’s Flying Disk Aircraft design which Jacque built a model approximately 3 feet in diameter and flew it in Grifith Park, CA. Skully presented Jacque with the claims to alien technology and sightings he had in his book, which Jacque systematically disproved. Scully felt he could not sell the book if he presented Jacque’s findings. Despite this, Scully’s book was published in 1950 and his public claims led to sales of 62,000 copies in several printings, an enormous number at that time, leading to Scully becoming a minor national celebrity. His name was later used for Dana Scully in the X-Files, due to the name “Scully” being well known in UFO lore at the time.
Jacque worked as a model and special effects designer for science fiction movies. He worked on a television show called Ring Around the Moon, which became the film Project Moonbase. He also worked as a technical adviser in the film industry, most notably for Lou Stoumen's 1956 documentary The Naked Eye.
Vice President Hubert Humphrey asked Jacque to write a proposal to make President Johnston look good. Jacque claimed he wouldn’t but he could do something to make America look good. The plan was called Project Americana, a 10 Year Plan for America’s Social Change. The plan included, among other things, methods for aiding struggling nations by erecting prefabricated factories that would produce prefabricated products for building, installation of cultural centers and a new curriculum for schooling. Jacque gave the plan to Hubert Humphrey after some meetings with the Vice President, Jacque asked why Humphrey removed all of the social aspects of the project. Humphrey replied that he would put them in later after he was elected and also stated, “You don’t understand politics Jacque.” Jacque said, “I think I understand it well, but put them in now and I will give you more later. “After removing many of the social ideas they changed the name from Project Americana to “The Great Society.” In 1962, CBS approached Jacque about developing a series on his ideas after appearing on two successive episodes of On the Town with Fred Fischer.
After his laboratory was removed to build the Golden State Freeway, Jacque moved to Miami, Florida looking for a less polluted atmosphere.
Jacque gives public lectures on a rapidly changing future and his critique of cultural and political practices of the era. Many participants began paying Jacque to professionally consult for them. Jacque describes going to Ku Klux Klan and White Citizens Council meetings in attempts to change their views about racial discrimination. During these years, Fresco also supported his projects by designing work through Jacque Fresco Enterprises.
Jacque spent time in Miami attempting to showcase his designs of a circular city and raise funds to get his design built. He also designed a three-wheeled car that was to have only 32 parts, not including the engine. Jacque made his living working as an industrial designer and independent contractor for various companies such as Alcoa and the Major Realty Corporation.
Fresco also designed: speedboats for Louis Newter, which won international prizes; a smoking pipe that condensed nicotine in the barrel; extruded aluminum windows for boats; multi-functional saw; hundreds of medical devices; the first jet ski, which he sold rights to so he could support further research; designed airbag for cars that protected from all sides, not just the front & back, designed drafting instruments; and much more.
The first half of the book explains the causes of problems faced by humanity and potential solutions. Jacque & Kenneth described three components they claimed could correctly analyze the future: humanity's values, methods of thinking and tools i.e. technological developments. All three are described as being interdependent, much like a set of gears. The second half of the book was dedicated to theorizing about the possible social implications of a central network knowledge bank (Corcen), used to bring about a "humanized man-machine symbiosis" and a speculative look at the future revolving around the experiences of the fictional characters, Scott and Hella. It is an extrapolation of life in a Resource Based Economy.
Sociocyberneering (Cyberneering and engineering applied to the social system) was a non political and non-sectarian organization, which at its peak had 250 members. Fresco frequently hosted educational lectures in Miami Beach, Universities, and three nights a week at his home in Coral Gables for a small fee “($2.00 for members and $3.00 for non members if you can afford it.” - you can often hear him say at the end of the lectures). They were followed by informal discussions at local cafes. His lecture topics ranged from physics, systems design, to sociology. Fresco worked with members of the organization to produce designs, films, and booklets advocating the aims and goals of the organization. Fresco's definition of "sociocyberneering" was "the application of the most sophisticated forms of computer technology in the management of human affairs." His goal was to "investigate alternative solutions based in conservation of energy, international cooperation in all areas of social endeavor, and the assimilation of a systems approach for the design of cities and other aspects of society."
Jacque Fresco makes appearances on Larry King.
Jacque met Roxanne during his lectures. Roxanne began to work with Jacque and he instructed her on technical illustration and model making.
Jacque and Roxanne purchase land in Venus, Florida to develop a Research Center.
Over an 18 year period, Jacque and Roxanne built a Research Center on 21-acres of swampland, which now has 10 buildings. The layout is an example of how multiple buildings can occupy a small area of land, yet still appear to be secluded from one another. Approximately 400 models, along with the mechanisms for filming them and over 5500 concept drawings are created to express the ideas within a Resource-Based Economy.
Jacque and his ideas are featured on over 88 major newspapers, magazines, radio and television shows. Jacque continues his research & experiments in multiple areas. Lectures are given, magazine articles written about The Venus Project from all over the world and TV crews continue to make their way to Venus to film. Jacque, now 100 years old, still lectures today in Venus, Florida where he hosts weekly tours of the Research Center.
Roxanne works as Architectural Designer, Illustrator and Model Maker while also working on The Venus Project models, designs, films and books. She was president and founder of Architectural Arts Inc., which continued this service from 1997 to 2008, when especially in Florida, the economic recession put many architectural & construction jobs out of business. Roxanne continues to assist Jacque in his lectures & public appearances, while also maintaining The Venus Project on a local and global level.
Describes The Venus Project and how it would provide a better future by applying the latest technologies, directly to our social system to benefit the lives of everyone. It also explains how this alternative design for our culture could solve problems of war, crime, poverty, hunger and a declining environment.
Produced by Roxanne Meadows and Jacque Fresco, edited by Roxanne Meadows.
Produced and directed by Roxanne Meadows and Jacque Fresco. Edited by Roxanne Meadows.
Produced and directed by Roxanne Meadows and Jacque Fresco. Edited by Roxanne Meadows.
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