Timeline of transhumanism

This is a timeline of Transhumanism.

Sample questions

The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:

Big picture

Time period	Development summary	More details
1970s		A Futurist subculture emerges.
1980s		The first formal self-proclaimed Transhumanist meetings begin at the University of California, Los Angeles, which becomes the main center of Transhumanist thinking. Toward the late decade, British philosopher Max More creates Extropianism, a hyper-optimistic philosophy revolving around a system of values that aims to overcome every limit, and, in particular, that of mortality.
1990s		The explosion of the Internet allows Transhumanists to forge closer contact with each other through forums and mailing lists, finally taking full consciousness of themselves as a movement.
2000s		From the second half of the decade, Transhumanism begins to take increasing root in Silicon Valley.

Full timeline

Year	Month and date	Event type	Details
1909			Futurism originates in Italy as an artistic and social movement, with the publication of the Futurist Manifesto by poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who explains the principles underlying his view of art, in search for a style representing technology and machines.	Italy
1910			Filippo Tommaso Marinetti publishes L'Uomo Moltiplicato ed il Regno della Macchina.	Italy
1915			A text by Giacomo Balla and Fortunato Depero titled Ricostruzione futurista dell’universo, introduces the terms superhuman and demiurgical tendencies.	Italy
1964		Literature	American academic Robert Ettinger publishes The Prospect of Immortality, which promotes the practice of freezing clinically dead people to guarantee them a possible future resuscitation. Ettinger is known as "the father of cryonics".	United States
1969		Organization	The American Cryonics Society is founded.	United States
1972		Literature	Robert Ettinger publishes Man into Superman, which proposes what would considered a Transhumanist proposal; this is, a number of improvements to the standard human being.	United States
1972		Organization	Alcor Life Extension Foundation is founded.	United States
1976			The Cryonics Institute is founded by Robert Ettinger.	United States
1980			American strategic designer Natasha Vita-More presents her experimental film Breaking Away.	United States
1986		Literature	American engineer K. Eric Drexler publishes Engines of Creation, which assumes the possibility of building so-called “nano-machines”.	United States
1986		Organization	The Foresight Institute is founded by K. Eric Drexler. It promotes the creation and use of molecular assemblers, the nano-machines capable of manipulating matter at the atomic and molecular level theorized by Drexler.	United States
1988		Literature	Austrian-born Canadian computer scientist Hans Moravec publishes Mind Children, which discusses the forthcoming development of intelligent machines.
1988			English/Californian philosopher Max More publishes the first issue of Extropy Magazine. The term “extropy” represents a concept contrary to that of entropy, indicating that Transhumanists pursue a growth of order rather than chaos.	United States
1989		Literature	FM-2030 publishes Are You a Transhuman?: Monitoring and Stimulating Your Personal Rate of Growth in a Rapidly Changing World.
1991		Concept development	The term “Singularitarian” is originally coined by Mark Plus (real name, Mark Potts), an Extropic thinker, Mark Plus.
1992			The Extropy Institute begins organizing the first conferences on Transhumanism.
1998		Organization	The World Transhumanist Association (WTA) is founded by Nick Bostrom and David Pearce.
1998			The first TransVision conference is held in Weesp, Holland.	Netherlands
1998		Literature (journal)	The Journal of Transhumanism is launched. In 2004, it would be renamed the Journal of Evolution and Technology.
1998		Movement launch	Cyberpunk science fiction writer Bruce Sterling founds the Viridian Design Movement, which according to the Transhumanist thinker James Hughes, is an example of Technogaianism. Sterling would close the Viridian Design Movement in 2008, as his ideas would become a consolidated part of ecological thinking.
2000		Organization	Aubrey De Grey and David Gobel found the Methuselah Foundation.
2000			The Machine Intelligence Research Institute is founded in Berkeley, California. It stands out among think tanks dedicated to the technological singularity.	United States
2002		Organization	American lawyer and entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt (born Martin) launches the Terasem Movement Foundation, which aims to educate the public on the need to extend human life through nanotechnology and “personal cyber-consciousness”. Based in Melbourne Beach, Florida, the Terasem Movement would be joined in 2004 by the Terasem Movement Foundation, a parallel organization.	United States
2002		Organization	The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology is founded by biologist Mike Treder and nanotechnologist Chris Phoenix, as a think tank with the aim of analyzing the social implications and risks associated with nanotechnology.	United States
2002		Literature	David Pulver publishes Transhuman Space.
2002		Organization	The Immortality Institute is founded by Bruce Klein.
2003		Organization	The Acceleration Studies Foundation is founded.
2004		Organization	Nick Bostrom and James Hughes launch the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.	United States
2005		Organization	The Future of Humanity Institute is founded by Nick Bostrom. It is connected to the Philosophy Department of the University of Oxford and the Oxford Martin School.	United Kingdom
2006			The Extropy Institute closes, after considering its mission “essentially completed”.
2006			A political struggle within World Transhumanist Association largely between the libertarian right and the liberal left ends with the victory of the latter, whose ideals would characterize its activity from then on.
2007			The World Transhumanist Association establishes its headquarters in Palo Alto.
2008		Organization	The World Transhumanist Association changes its name to Humanity+, and launches h + Magazine.
2009		Organization	The SENS Research Foundation is founded by Aubrey de Grey.
2009		Organization	Singularity University is founded by Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil. In spite of the name, it is registered as charity.	United States
2010		Organization	The Brain Preservation Foundation is founded by Kenneth Hayworth and John Smart.	United States
2010			Breki Tomasson and Hank Hyena publish the Extropist Manifesto, launching Extropism as a similar derivative movement from Extropianism.
2011		Literature	Ronald Cole-Turner publishes Transhumanism and Transcendence: Christian Hope in an Age of Technological Enhancement.
2011		Literature	Gregory R. Hansell and William Grassie publish H± Transhumanism and Its Critics.
2014		Literature	Calvin Mercer and Derek F. Maher publish Transhumanism and the Body: The World Religions Speak.
2014		Literature	Ted Chu publishes Human Purpose and Transhuman Potential: A Cosmic Vision of Our Future Evolution.

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

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What the timeline is still missing

• Transhumanism (see Subsets of Transhumanism)
• Category:Transhumanists
• Fereidoun M. Esfandiary