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Buckminster Fuller honoured on stamp

Buckminster Fuller honoured on stamp
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A commemorative postage stamp honoring the legendary inventor, architect, engineer, designer, geometrician, cartographer and philosopher R. Buckminster Fuller has been issued by the US Postal Service. The stamp was issued on his birthday at Stanford University, where his papers are archived.

"Fuller had a special gift - he had vision. He could see the bigger picture. He could look at a problem and develop a practical solution," said Anita Bizzotto, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, U.S. Postal Service, who dedicated the stamp. "Buckminster Fuller was actually the heir to a legacy of American innovation and American innovators that stretches back more than 200 years."

Fuller's daughter - Allegra Fuller Snyder - is professor emerita, Dance and Dance Ethnology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was one of a stellar group who joined Bizzotto for the ceremony. Others participating included Dr. Buzz Aldrin, astronaut, Gemini 12 and Apollo 11; Michael A. Keller, university librarian, Stanford University; Joshua Arnow, president, board of directors, The Buckminster Fuller Institute; Carolyn Johnson, reporter/anchor, KGO-TV ABC; and Scott Tucker, district manager, San Francisco District, U.S. Postal Service.

The stamp artwork is a painting of Fuller by Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965). The painting, which originally appeared on the cover of Time magazine on Jan. 10, 1964, depicts Fuller's head in the pattern of a geodesic dome. Geodesic domes and a number of his other inventions surround Fuller, including the Dymaxion Car, the 4D Apartment House and several objects and models that reflect the geometric and structural principles he discovered.

Fuller's life was dogged by his personality which often saw him regarded as a magician and a huckster. A fine summation of a complex life can be found at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/14/buckminster_fuller_stamp/

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