Stewart Brand
Creator of the Whole Earth Catalog and early prophet of personal computing
- Age
- 87 yrs
- Birthday in 38 days
- Works listed
- 3
- Catalog, Book
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 1972
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Stewart Brand is an American writer who created the Whole Earth Catalog, a 1960s counterculture guide that Steve Jobs called “Google in paperback form”. He co-founded the WELL online community and the Long Now Foundation and helped link the hippie movement with personal computing.
Biography
Background
Brand studied biology at Stanford and served in the US Army. In the 1960s he took part in Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters and campaigned for NASA to release a picture of the whole Earth from space.
Whole Earth Catalog
Starting in 1968, the catalog reviewed tools and books for self-sufficient living. Its final issue (1971) won a National Book Award and carried the farewell “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
Computers
He filmed Douglas Engelbart’s 1968 “Mother of All Demos”, and wrote a 1972 Rolling Stone article about computer gamers at Stanford and Xerox PARC. He organised the first Hackers’ Conference in 1984 and co-founded the WELL in 1985.
Long Now
In 1996 he co-founded the Long Now Foundation, which is building a clock meant to run for 10,000 years. He has advocated nuclear power and “de-extinction”.
Timeline
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1938
Born in Rockford, Illinois, United States
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1966
Campaigns for a photo of the whole Earth
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1968
Whole Earth Catalog; films Engelbart’s demo
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1972
National Book Award
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1984
Hackers’ Conference
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1985
Co-founds the WELL
-
1996
Co-founds the Long Now Foundation
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2009
Whole Earth Discipline
Notable works
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1968
Whole Earth Catalog Catalog
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1994
How Buildings Learn Book
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2009
Whole Earth Discipline Book
Awards and honours
-
National Book Award
1972
Did you know?
-
1
Steve Jobs quoted the catalog’s farewell in his 2005 Stanford speech.
-
2
He coined the phrase “information wants to be free”.
-
3
The 2021 documentary We Are As Gods covers his life.
Connections
Related people
Frequently asked
Who is Stewart Brand?
Stewart Brand is an American writer who created the Whole Earth Catalog, a 1960s counterculture guide that Steve Jobs called “Google in paperback form”. He co-founded the WELL online community and the Long Now Foundation and helped link the hippie movement with personal computing.
How old is Stewart Brand?
Stewart Brand is 87 years old, born on 14 December 1938 in Rockford, Illinois, United States.
Where is Stewart Brand from?
Stewart Brand was born in Rockford, Illinois, United States.
What is Stewart Brand known for?
Stewart Brand is best known for Whole Earth Catalog (1968); the WELL; Long Now Foundation; “Stay hungry, stay foolish”.
What awards has Stewart Brand received?
Notable honours include National Book Award (1972).
References
- Stewart Brand — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stewart Brand — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stewart Brand — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stewart Brand — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. sb.longnow.org. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stewart Brand (Q971994) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Stewart Brand”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Stewart Brand.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/stewart-brand
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