Webinar: Lyceum Society September 2022 Meeting

Welcome and Introductions: 11:30 am to 11:45 am

Main Presentation: 11:45 am to 2:00 pm

Speaker: Bill Rosser

Topic: A Virtual Walking Tour of the NoHo Historic District

The NoHo Historic District in downtown Manhattan is rich in libraries, theaters, and Greek revival townhouses, but it also stands out in innovative technology and science. IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence program is headquartered in NoHo, across the street from the Cooper Union Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Arts—where Peter Cooper completed the first undersea submarine cable from New York to London in 1858.

NoHo also contains the intact 1822 Federal-style townhouse that became the first hospital only for women in 1854—created by Elizabeth Blackwell, the very first female MD in America.

Many other fascinating stories, including the Astor Library (now Public Theater) will be told.

Bill Rosser retired from Gartner, Inc., a worldwide top-ranked advisory firm providing guidance to corporations regarding their use of information technology. As a Gartner VP and Distinguished Analyst, he spent 29 years writing, speaking and adv`ising clients about effective use of IT. He studied Basic Engineering at Princeton University, and after work in telecommunications in San Francisco, returned to Harvard Business School and graduated with Distinction in 1962. In 1969 he formed his own start-up in data processing based on the new electronic cash registers, and after a merger, worked in strategic planning for Perkin-Elmer and Exxon Enterprises prior to Gartner.

Today Bill is active as an architectural walking tour guide (Grand Central Terminal and the NoHo Historic District), and is a founding member of Reform Elections Now, promoting vital improvements in the election processes such as ranked choice voting. He has spoken to the Lyceum Society on various topics and has chaired our discussions of timely issues.