A short history of the Universal Expositions. Oddities and the inventions that have changed our way of life: the Singer sowing machine displayed in the Expo of Paris of 1855; the light bulbs; the ice-maker and the porcelain teeth presented at the EXPO of 1878; the telephone, the telegraph, the typewriter and... Ketchup. Television, nylon and air-conditioning were presented at this EXPO of New York of 1939. And Milan?

1. EXPO: a short history of
the Universal Expositions
Oddities, anecdotes
and the inventions that have
changed our way of life
November 2015

2. Universal Expositions have been one of the symbolic events
of our modern, contemporary society. A not-to-be-missed
rendezvous for many enthusiasts or inquisitive individuals from
all over the world.
When the first Expo was held in the nineteenth century, it
was an important novelty even if it is the modern version of
medieval fairs.
We remember them because…
There’s always something that sticks in our minds about every
EXPO, for example the lavishness of the event or the inventions
that have changed our everyday lives etc.
But also oddities and curiosities.
The Universal Exposition

3. EXPO: the origins
London 1851
The “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations” –
the first Universal Exposition - strongly supported by Queen
Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert.
It was a runaway success (over 6 million visitors) and proceeds
from the event were used to found the Victoria & Albert
Museum, the Science Museum and Natural History Museum
in London.
Its greatest attraction
A wheel gun invented by Samuel Colt was displayed for the first
time but soon became known all over the world as a revolver.
And Italy?
Although the country was still not united, the Grand Duchy of
Tuscany and… the Papal State both participated.

4. Paris, the Queen of EXPOs
Since the first EXPO in London, six have been held in Paris:
1855: Exposition Universelle des produits de l’Agriculture,
de l’Industrie et des Beaux-Arts.
It was the Expo of small inventions that revolutionised our
lives – from the Singer sowing machine to the saxophone
– but also Focault’s pendulum demonstrating the rotation
of the earth was displayed.
1867: 13 million visitors who were able to admire, amongst
other things, the head of the Statue of Liberty.
1878: the year electricity triumphed. The EXPO was lit
with light bulbs thanks to this continuous power flow.

5. In the Expo of 1878 other small revolutions (that used
electricity) were also displayed, for example an ice-maker.
There was also a very useful invention for anyone with a less
than perfect smile… the first porcelain teeth!
Today people would be horrified, but at the time it was a novelty:
a human zoo, called the “village nègre”, where men and
women from Africa, Asia and the Americas were displayed to
promote colonialism.
16 million people visited the EXPO – the day of the
inauguration was declared a national holiday so that workers
could attend the ceremony.
Paris, the Queen of EXPOs and porcelain teeth

6. Paris, the Queen of EXPOs and revolution
1889
Perhaps the most famous EXPO of all time thanks to the
Tour Eiffel; it was built specifically for the event and placed at
the entrance of the Exposition in the Champs de Mars. Today
the Tower is the most visited paid entrance tourist site in the
world.
This EXPO coincided with the 100th
anniversary of the French
Revolution; not surprisingly, no sovereign visited the EXPO
that year.
Foodstuffs were exhibited for the first time and an enormous
barrel of champagne was placed in the centre of the building
hosting the pavilions.
The phonograph was also displayed, making it the EXPO of
music.

7. 1900
A record number of people – 50 million - visited the 216 hectare
exposition. What made it so special? The Cinématographe
by the Lumière brothers.
1937
Display of the painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Adapted
to decorate the Spanish pavilion it portrays the bombing
of the Spanish city of Guernica during the Civil War (1936-
1939). After the exposition and the fall of the Republican
government Picasso stopped his most famous painting from
being exhibited in Spain, stating explicitly that it could only
return to Spain after the end of Francoism.
Paris,theQueenofEXPOsandthecinema

8. The Centennial Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of
the Soil and Mine, organised to celebrate the 100th
anniversary
of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July
4, 1776 in Philadelphia.
The inventions presented at this EXPO were to shape the
future: the telephone invented by Alexander Bell (please
forgive us Meucci!), the telegraph by Thomas Edison,
the typewriter by Eliphalet Remington and Ketchup by
Henry John Heinz.
EXPO travels to the USA: Philadelphia 1876

9. The Chicago World’s Fair and Chicago Columbian Exposition,
to celebrate the 400th
anniversary of the discovery of
America.
The icon of this exposition was a swimming pool 400 m long
representing Christopher Columbus’ journey from Europe to
America.
A record number of countries – 46– participated in this EXPO
visited by over 27 million people.
One curious titbit of information: body building officially
began here when its first champion, Eugene Sandow, gave
a muscle display performance.
EXPO travels to the USA: Chicago 1893

10. The dawn of a new day, to give the world a glimpse of the
future and show all the visitors how technology would change
their lives.
Television covered the event for the first time, transmitting the
inaugural address by President Roosevelt.
Many other novelties were on display including nylon, air-
conditioning and colour photographs.
EXPO travels to the USA: New York 1939

11. And yet more EXPO in Europe and around
the world: Bruxelles, Osaka, Hanover
Bruxelles 1958
Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles: IBM
presents the 305 Ramac, the first computer with a hard
disk drive (bigger than a cupboard!).
Osaka 1970
Japanese World and International Exposition Osaka - 日本万国博
覧会. Display of the first prototype of a mobile phone.
Hanover 2000
What a flop! – very few visitors and exorbitant costs.
On a lighter note: to save the EXPO in extremis the organisers
hired Verona Feldbusch, a German sex-symbol, for the ad
campaign directed by Wim Wenders.

12. Shangai 2010
Better city, better life focusing on urban renewal to improve
the life of urban dwellers.
Record figures: over 73 million participants for the most
expensive EXPO ever – the city of Shanghai invested 28.6
million yuan, roughly 4 billion euros.
And yet more EXPO in Europe and
around the world: Shangai

13. Milan 1906
Esposizione internazionale del Sempione, celebrating the
opening of the Simplon Tunnel and the first railway link
between Italy and France. The EXPO was dedicated to
transportation: one of the most successful pavilions was the
Aerostatic Park displaying several aerostatic balloons and
the first Italian airship.
Rome 1941
The EXPO was to be held in Rome. In fact, building began on
the EUR borough (Italian acronym for Universal Exposition
of Rome), however due to the outbreak of the Second World
War the EXPO was cancelled and even the construction
of the EUR borough remained unfinished.
ItalyandtheEXPO

14. Feed the Planet, Energy for Life. What will we remember
about it?
We walked a lot! The exposition covered an area of more
than 1 million square meters.
The strange foodstuffs: crocodile hamburgers from
New Zealand, Puffer fish from Japan, snake wine from
Vietnam, but also locusts, larva and other “delicacies”.
And from Italy? The Sardinian piglet made its return
after years of being banned due to the swine pest.
The Foody mascot, a family of eleven foodstuffs inspired
by Arcimboldo’s Vertumnus.
A social EXPO: anyone who wrote to @AskExpo was sent
useful information about the EXPO in Italian and English.
The recent EXPO: Milan 2015

15. Austria transported a 560 sq.m wood with tall trees
measuring up to 12 metres; the temperature in the wood was
lower than the temperature outside, making it very enjoyable
for visitors who chose to take a stroll in it; 10 orchards were
cultivated in the Bahrain pavilion while an orange grove
embellished the Spanish pavilion.
The recent EXPO: Milan 2015.
Real woods and Orchards

16. Perhaps, but people have already started to vote (!); it’s been
praised for its beautiful ‘festive’ air, for having helped to
jumpstart the economy and enhance the city’s prestige,
for its focus on the theme, etc.
In short, it’s been a resounding success for Milan.
Other issues were a little less positive… perhaps the site (Rho),
and its future now it’s closed: for example, where will the Tree
of Life really be placed?
Is it too soon to assess EXPO 2015?