George Nelson, born in 1908 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, studied architecture at Yale University. A scholarship enabled him to study at the American Academy in Rome from 1932-34. In Europe he came into contact with the buildings and protagonists of modernism. In 1935 he joined the editorial team of the “Architectural Forum”, where he was a member until 1944. In 1944 he published a keynote article there on housing and furniture design that caught the attention of DJ DePree, head of the furniture company Herman Miller Inc. A short time later, George Nelson became design director of Herman Miller. In this position, which he held until 1972, he became a key figure in American design: he designed furniture for homes and offices and brought Charles & Ray Eames , Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Girard to Herman Miller.