22 Facts About Alvin Toffler

Alvin Eugene Toffler was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on their effects on cultures worldwide.

Alvin Toffler is regarded as one of the world's outstanding futurists.

Alvin Toffler founded Toffler Associates, a management consulting company, and was a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, visiting professor at Cornell University, faculty member of the New School for Social Research, a White House correspondent, and a business consultant.

Alvin Toffler was born on October 4,1928, in New York City, and raised in Brooklyn.

Alvin Toffler was the son of Rose and Sam Toffler, a furrier, both Polish Jews who had migrated to America.

Alvin Toffler was inspired to become a writer at the age of 7 by his aunt and uncle, who lived with the Tofflers.

Alvin Toffler graduated from New York University in 1950 as an English major, though by his own account he was more focused on political activism than grades.

Alvin Toffler met his future wife, Adelaide Elizabeth Farrell, when she was starting a graduate course in linguistics.

Alvin Toffler was hired by IBM to conduct research and write a paper on the social and organizational impact of computers, leading to his contact with the earliest computer "gurus" and artificial intelligence researchers and proponents.

Alvin Toffler coined the term "future shock" to refer to what happens to a society when change happens too fast, which results in social confusion and normal decision-making processes breaking down.

Alvin Toffler continued the theme in The Third Wave in 1980.

Alvin Toffler claimed that one of the side effects of the digital age has been "information overload," another term he coined.

Alvin Toffler stated many of his ideas during an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1998.

Alvin Toffler explained during an interview that some visitors would become "truly disoriented and upset" by the strange environment, which he described as a reaction to culture shock.

Alvin Toffler describes the "First Wave" as the society after agrarian revolution and replaced the first hunter-gatherer cultures.

Alvin Toffler often visited with dignitaries in Asia, including China's Zhao Ziyang, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and South Korea's Kim Dae Jung, all of whom were influenced by his views as Asia's emerging markets increased in global significance during the 1980s and 1990s.

US House Speaker Newt Gingrich publicly lauded his ideas about the future, and urged members of Congress to read Alvin Toffler's book, Creating a New Civilization.

Turner's company, Turner Broadcasting, published Alvin Toffler's Creating a New Civilization in 1995.

Alvin Toffler has been described in a Financial Times interview as the "world's most famous futurologist".

Alvin Toffler convened conferences to discuss The Third Wave in the early 1980s, and in 1985 the book was the No 2 best seller in China.

Alvin Toffler has received several prestigious prizes and awards, including the McKinsey Foundation Book Award for Contributions to Management Literature, Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres, and appointments, including Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Alvin Toffler died in his sleep on June 27,2016, at his home in Los Angeles.