In-Person Talk: The Origins of Silicon Valley: Why and How It Happened Here

This non-technical talk traces the history of tech development, and the people involved, going back to 1909 through 1960, and shows how those early pioneers led directly to what we know as Silicon Valley. The colorful story goes back to the early 1910's: new inventions, angel investors, the sinking of the Titanic, breaking RCA tube patents, Fred Terman and Stanford University, local invention of high-power tubes, WWII and radar, and the San Francisco Bay Area infrastructure that developed.
These factors determined that the semiconductor and IC industries would be located in the Santa Clara Valley and that the Valley would remain the world's innovation center as new technologies emerged -- computers, then software, biotech, virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, and now artificial intelligence -- and it would become the model for innovation worldwide.
Sponsored by the Saratoga Historical Foundation, it is also being promoted by the historical societies of Milpitas, Sunnyvale and Mountain View. All proceeds go to the Saratoga Museum and youth scholarships.
Speaker: Paul Wesling, a Stanford grad and IEEE Life Fellow, has observed the Valley for decades as an engineer, executive, resident and educator. In this non-technical presentation, he provides the colorful history of technology development that began in Palo Alto, then spread across the Santa Clara Valley during and following WWII.

More Information and to register: https://tinyurl.com/3f44f3w4
(NOTE: YOU CANNOT REGISTER DIRECTLY ON MEETUP)
Time: Tuesday, March 25, 2025, 7:00 – 8:15 PM (Doors open at 6:30; plenty of parking)
Cost: $10/person ($25/family) in advance; $15 at the door
Location: 14103 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga

Post-talk reviews submitted by Stanford Historical Society members:
-- Excellent speaker!! Great grasp of materials and breadth of his knowledge.
-- The speaker was clear, the information was very interesting. It gave connections to companies’ origins that I previously did not know about.
-- This was one of the best speakers we have heard in a long time. He covered the "Silicon Valley" lecture with a perfect timeline and lots of good details.