How Olivetti Invented the World’s First Desktop Computer & Put the Soul in the Machine

Italian company Olivetti invented the world’s first desktop computer - Programma 101 - in 1965, well ahead of major computer companies. The revolutionary little machine was the product of a sweeping utopian project of company president Adriano Olivetti, who aimed to transform the relationship between technology, art, society & the human spirit.

Dr.  lecture explores the associations between his ideology, his reinvention of the Olivetti company town of Ivrea in northern Italy & Programma 101.

THURSDAY, MARCH 11 @ 5:00 pm PST

Online event – in English – via Zoom

FREE ADMISSION for Members of the Dante Society of BC.

$5 fee for non-members

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Dr. Arthur Molella was the founding director, now emeritus, of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History. He received his PhD in the History of Science from Cornell University. He teaches in Johns Hopkins University’s department of the History of Science and Technology and in its online Masters in Museum Studies program.

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If you would like to suggest or propose an event, send an email to Dr. Arianna Dagnino, the Cultural Events Coordinator: arianna.dagnino@dantesocietybc.ca

You can watch the recordings of previous online events on our YouTube Channel.