Happy Birthday, Marshall McLuhan

Herbert Marshall McLuhan was born in Edmonton, Canada, on July 21, 1911, to an insurance salesman father and a mother who gave dramatic monologues in theaters and church basements. He acquired his mother’s flair for elocution and developed a knack for memorization and impromptu speeches. His long-winded, but articulate communication style was often said to be an “assault on reason.”

The 1930s were an important era for McLuhan’s personal growth. In 1937, he converted to Catholicism and many scholars link his faith to his outlook on technological and social change.

McLuhan remained in Canada for most of his life, but studied briefly at Cambridge University, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree and met psychologist-turned literary critic, I.A. Richards. Richards examined a technique for reading where the content of a poem mattered less than the way the poem communicated certain effects in the mind of a reader. McLuhan adapted this technique to the study of media, which is evident in his first book, “The Mechanical Bride,” an exploration of how advertising manipulates society.

McLuhan went on to receive nine honorary degrees from colleges and universities throughout the world and conjured up a cohort of academic followers who adhere to his theories of communication. McLuhan wrote more books, including, “Understanding Media,” in which he argued that the form of media has more significant effect on society and knowledge than the content carried. In his works, McLuhan predicted that television and other electronic information technology would kill off printed books.

Many communication scholars believe that McLuhan’s theories are more relevant today than they were when he was alive, because the lines between the human community and the technologies we rely on are blurred. Scholars believe that McLuhan saw the merging of text and electronic mass media—what we know as the Internet.

Throughout his life McLuhan suffered from blackouts, and in his midlife, a large tumor was discovered on his brain. He underwent surgery in 1967, and although he recovered, the effects of the operation changed his life. He grew to be “hypersensitive,” and discovered that “several years of reading got rubbed out.” “In 1979 he suffered a stroke, which affected his ability to read and write, forcing him to retire from teaching.” McLuhan died in Toronto on December 31, 1980.