McLuhan, (Herbert) Marshall

(born July 21, 1911, Edmonton, Alta., Can.—died Dec. 31, 1980, Toronto, Ont.) Canadian communications theorist and educator. He taught at the University of Toronto from 1946 to 1979 and became popular for his aphorism “the medium is the message,” which summarized his view of the potent influence of “hot media”—television, computers, and other electronic information disseminators—in shaping styles of thinking and thought, whether in sociology, art, science, or religion. He regarded the printed book, a “cool medium,” as fated to disappear. His highly influential works include The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962), Understanding Media (1964), and The Medium Is the Message (with Q. Fiore, 1967).

Find more information on McLuhan, (Herbert) Marshall. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on McLuhan, (Herbert) Marshall.