Emery A. Gunnin Architecture Library.

R. Buckminster Fuller was born on July 12, 1895 in Milton, Massachusetts, the son of Richard B. and Caroline Wolcott (Andrews) Fuller. He attended Harvard, but was expelled on two separate occasions. Afterwards, for a time, he was employed with both a textile mill and a meat packing plant. He married in 1917, enlisting for service with the U.S. Navy later that same year during World War I. After the end of the war, Fuller once again was employed with the meat packing industry for a short time before establishing the Stockade Building System Company in 1922, which offered light-weight, weatherproof housing. The business was ultimately unsuccessful. After a period of near bankruptcy, he accepted a position in 1948 at Black Mountain College located in North Carolina. While there, he began work on a project that would revolutionize the field of engineering--the geodesic dome. In effect, he had designed one of the first structures that could sustain its own weight with no practical limitations. The U.S. government quickly recognized that the system could be applied to their military field operations and employed Fuller in the mass production of the domes. He gained international recognition during the 1950s through the success of his domes, and began teaching at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1959. Fuller went on to contribute a wide range of ideas, designs, and inventions, particularly in the areas of practical, inexpensive shelter and transportation while working as a designer, scientist, developer, and writer. He was ultimately awarded twenty-five U.S. patents and received numerous honorary doctorates. Fuller died in 1983, aged 88.

From the description of College of Architecture departmental records, R. Buckminster Fuller, 1932-1967 (bulk 1958). (Clemson University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 68046105