Larry Brilliant
Encyclopedia
Lawrence "Larry" Brilliant is an American physician, epidemiologist
, technologist, author, and the former director of Google
's philanthropic arm Google.org
. Brilliant, a technology patent holder, has been CEO of two public companies and other venture backed start ups. From 1973 to 1976, he participated in the successful World Health Organization
(WHO) smallpox
eradication program. In April 2009, he was chosen to oversee the "Skoll Global Threats Fund" established by eBay co-founder Jeff Skoll.
(May 5, 1944), he received his undergraduate training as well as his MPH degree (Masters in Public Health) from the University of Michigan
, where he worked on the staff of the Gargoyle Humor Magazine
, and his M.D.
from Wayne State University School of Medicine
. He moved to California
for his internship at the California Pacific Medical Center
, and developed thyroid cancer
from which he recovered. Brilliant is board certified in preventive medicine and public health.
In 1969, a group of American Indians from many different tribes, calling themselves Indians of All Tribes
, occupied the Alcatraz island
in San Francisco. A call went out for doctors to help a pregnant woman there give birth and Brilliant joined their occupation as unofficial doctor.
off Alcatraz, Brilliant became a media darling which led to a movie company casting him in Medicine Ball Caravan—a sequel to the hit Woodstock Nation
—playing a doctor in a film about a tribe of hippies who follow the Grateful Dead
, Jefferson Airplane
, Jethro Tull
, and Joni Mitchell
. The cast was paid with airline tickets to India
. Brilliant and some others cashed their tickets in and rented a bus to drive around Europe, which then turned into a relief convoy to help victims of the 1970 Bhola cyclone in Bangladesh
(then East Pakistan).
Civil unrest stopped the relief caravan so he spent several years in India studying at a Himalayan
ashram
with Neem Karoli Baba
(a Hindu
sage) from whom he received the name Subramanyum. After about a year Neem Karoli Baba
told Brilliant to eradicate smallpox
on which he would spend the next several years. He participated, as a medical officer, in the World Health Organization
(WHO) smallpox
eradication program that in 1980 certified the global eradication of smallpox.
When he returned to the United States, he became a professor of international health at the University of Michigan
as well as starting numerous charitable and business ventures. He spent the first half of 2005 as a volunteer helping out in the tsunami in Sri Lanka
and working in India with WHO in the campaign to eradicate polio.
, she was instrumental in the World Health Organization
's smallpox eradication program.
movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna, which depicts hippie
culture. He said, "When shooting for the song sequence 'Dum Maro Dum' (which glorifies smoking marijuana), Dev Anand
was looking for certain types of foreigners..."
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
, technologist, author, and the former director of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
's philanthropic arm Google.org
Google.org
Google.org is the charitable arm of Internet search engine company Google.The organization has committed over $100 million in investments and grants as of May 2010. To fund the organization, Google granted them 3 million shares during their initial public offering. As of August 2011, Google.org's 3...
. Brilliant, a technology patent holder, has been CEO of two public companies and other venture backed start ups. From 1973 to 1976, he participated in the successful World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
eradication program. In April 2009, he was chosen to oversee the "Skoll Global Threats Fund" established by eBay co-founder Jeff Skoll.
Early life
Born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
(May 5, 1944), he received his undergraduate training as well as his MPH degree (Masters in Public Health) from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where he worked on the staff of the Gargoyle Humor Magazine
Gargoyle Humor Magazine
Gargoyle Humor Magazine or The Gargoyle is the official student-run humor magazine for the University of Michigan. It has been satirizing both local and national events for more than one hundred years...
, and his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from Wayne State University School of Medicine
Wayne State University School of Medicine
The Wayne State University School of Medicine is the largest single-campus medical school in the United States with more than 1,000 medical students. In addition to undergraduate medical education, the school offers master’s degree, Ph.D., and M.D.-Ph.D. programs in 14 areas of basic science to...
. He moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for his internship at the California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, non-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of four of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, Davies...
, and developed thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer
Thyroid neoplasm is a neoplasm or tumor of the thyroid. It can be a benign tumor such as thyroid adenoma, or it can be a malignant neoplasm , such as papillary, follicular, medullary or anaplastic thyroid cancer. Most patients are 25 to 65 years of age when first diagnosed; women are more affected...
from which he recovered. Brilliant is board certified in preventive medicine and public health.
In 1969, a group of American Indians from many different tribes, calling themselves Indians of All Tribes
Indians of All Tribes
Indians of All Tribes may refer to one of two organizations:*Indians of All Tribes, based out of San Francisco, and responsible for the Occupation of Alcatraz...
, occupied the Alcatraz island
Occupation of Alcatraz
The Occupation of Alcatraz was an occupation of Alcatraz Island by the group Indians of All Tribes . The Alcatraz Occupation lasted for nineteen months, from November 20, 1969, to June 11, 1971, and was forcibly ended by the U.S. government.-Background:...
in San Francisco. A call went out for doctors to help a pregnant woman there give birth and Brilliant joined their occupation as unofficial doctor.
Career
After the US government forced the Indians of All TribesIndians of All Tribes
Indians of All Tribes may refer to one of two organizations:*Indians of All Tribes, based out of San Francisco, and responsible for the Occupation of Alcatraz...
off Alcatraz, Brilliant became a media darling which led to a movie company casting him in Medicine Ball Caravan—a sequel to the hit Woodstock Nation
Woodstock Nation
The term Woodstock Nation refers specifically to the attendees of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Festival that took place from August 15–17 on the farm of Max Yasgur near Bethel, New York...
—playing a doctor in a film about a tribe of hippies who follow the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
. The cast was paid with airline tickets to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Brilliant and some others cashed their tickets in and rented a bus to drive around Europe, which then turned into a relief convoy to help victims of the 1970 Bhola cyclone in Bangladesh
1970 Bhola cyclone
The 1970 Bhola cyclone was a devastating tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan and India's West Bengal on November 12, 1970. It was the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded, and one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern times...
(then East Pakistan).
Civil unrest stopped the relief caravan so he spent several years in India studying at a Himalayan
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
with Neem Karoli Baba
Neem Karoli Baba
Shri Neem Karoli Baba or Shri Neeb Karori Baba , also known to followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman...
(a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
sage) from whom he received the name Subramanyum. After about a year Neem Karoli Baba
Neem Karoli Baba
Shri Neem Karoli Baba or Shri Neeb Karori Baba , also known to followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman...
told Brilliant to eradicate smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
on which he would spend the next several years. He participated, as a medical officer, in the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
eradication program that in 1980 certified the global eradication of smallpox.
When he returned to the United States, he became a professor of international health at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
as well as starting numerous charitable and business ventures. He spent the first half of 2005 as a volunteer helping out in the tsunami in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and working in India with WHO in the campaign to eradicate polio.
- December, 1978 – Co-founder and chairman of SevaSeva FoundationSeva Foundation is an international health organization based in Berkeley, California, that was founded in 1978 by public health expert Dr. Larry Brilliant. Seva is best known for their work restoring eyesight to nearly 3 million blind people suffering from cataract blindness in places like Tibet,...
, an International, non-profit, health foundation. Seva's projects in TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
have given back sight to more than 2 million blind people through surgery, self sufficient eye care systems, and low cost manufacturing of intraocular lenses. One important contribution of his was his helping to set up the Aravind Eye HospitalAravind Eye HospitalAravind Eye Care Hospital is an ophthalmological hospital with several locations in India. It was founded by Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy.The hospital is named after Sri Aurobindo, one of the 20th century’s most revered spiritual leaders...
in MaduraiMaduraiMadurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, India. - 1985 – He co-founded, with Stewart BrandStewart BrandStewart Brand is an American writer, best known as editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He founded a number of organizations including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation...
, The Well, a prototypic online communityOnline communityAn online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
that has been the subject of multiple books and studies. Time magazine said, "Well was a huge hit, a precursor of every online business from Amazon.com to eBay." - July 2006 – He was awarded the TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
Prize, granting him $100,000 and 'One Wish to Change the World' which he presented at TED in July 2006. As his prize nominator summed up, "'Dr. Brilliant' is a name to live up to, and he has." His one wish that he presented at the conference was, "To build a powerful new early warning system to protect our world from some of its worst nightmares." - 22 February 2006 – Google Inc.GoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
appointed him as the Executive Director of Google.orgGoogle.orgGoogle.org is the charitable arm of Internet search engine company Google.The organization has committed over $100 million in investments and grants as of May 2010. To fund the organization, Google granted them 3 million shares during their initial public offering. As of August 2011, Google.org's 3...
, the philanthropic arm of Google, a position which he held until April, 2009.
Personal life
Brilliant is married to Girija (formerly Elaine) and has three children: Joe, Jon, and Iris. Girija holds a PhD in public health administration and is an equal partner in many of her husband's enterprises. Co-founder of Seva FoundationSeva Foundation
Seva Foundation is an international health organization based in Berkeley, California, that was founded in 1978 by public health expert Dr. Larry Brilliant. Seva is best known for their work restoring eyesight to nearly 3 million blind people suffering from cataract blindness in places like Tibet,...
, she was instrumental in the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
's smallpox eradication program.
Film
Brilliant acted as an extra in the 1971 BollywoodBollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna, which depicts hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
culture. He said, "When shooting for the song sequence 'Dum Maro Dum' (which glorifies smoking marijuana), Dev Anand
Dev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
was looking for certain types of foreigners..."
External links
- Are Social Entrepreneurs Heroes? Larry Brilliant on BBC The Forum
- TED Prize Wish: Larry Brilliant wants to stop pandemics at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2006 - TED Talks: Larry Brilliant makes the case for optimism at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2007 - The Seva Foundation, Founded by Larry Brilliant
- Video on the founding of the Seva Foundation.