History of Curtis Yarvin in Timeline

Curtis Yarvin, also known as Mencius Moldbug, is an American far-right political blogger and software developer. He is the co-founder, alongside Nick Land, of the Dark Enlightenment or neo-reactionary movement (NRx), an anti-egalitarian and anti-democratic philosophy. Yarvin's ideas have gained increasing influence on the American Right, including figures like JD Vance and Peter Thiel.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

1973: Curtis Yarvin's Birth and Family Background

In 1973, Curtis Guy Yarvin was born into a liberal, secular family. His father, Herbert Yarvin, was a US government diplomat, and his mother was a Protestant from Westchester County.

1973: Curtis Yarvin Born

In 1973, Curtis Guy Yarvin, also known as Mencius Moldbug, was born. He is an American far-right political blogger and software developer known for founding the Dark Enlightenment movement.

1985: Entered Johns Hopkins's Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth

In 1985, Curtis Yarvin entered Johns Hopkins's longitudinal Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, showcasing his advanced academic abilities at a young age.

1988: Graduation from Wilde Lake High School

In 1988, Curtis Yarvin graduated from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland, which he entered as a twelve-year-old sophomore, highlighting his accelerated academic progress.

1992: Graduation from Brown University

In 1992, Curtis Yarvin graduated from Brown University, marking a significant milestone in his academic career.

2002: Founded Urbit Computer Platform

In 2002, Curtis Yarvin founded the Urbit computer platform, which is a decentralized network of personal servers.

2002: Began Work on Urbit

In 2002, Yarvin began work on a personal software project that later evolved into the Urbit networked computing platform.

2007: Started Unqualified Reservations Blog

In 2007, Curtis Yarvin began his blog, Unqualified Reservations, to promote his political views.

2008: Financial Crisis Strengthens Libertarian Convictions

In 2008, Curtis Yarvin's libertarian convictions were strengthened due to the federal response to the financial crisis.

2009: Thiel's Essay on Freedom and Democracy

In 2009, Peter Thiel wrote an essay where he declared that he no longer believes freedom and democracy are compatible.

2009: Racial statements

In 2009, Yarvin made controversial statements regarding race and civil rights programs, asserting that applying them to populations with recent hunter-gatherer ancestry resulted in "absolute human garbage."

2011: Peter Thiel Invested in Tlon Co-founder

In 2011, Peter Thiel invested $100,000 in Tlon's co-founder John Burnham.

2012: Introduced Acronym RAGE at BIL Conference

In 2012, under his pseudonym Mencius Moldbug, Yarvin gave a talk at the BIL Conference where he introduced the acronym "RAGE," meaning "Retire All Government Employees."

2013: Srinivasan Advocated Techno-Corporate Cameralism

In 2013, Balaji Srinivasan advocated in a speech for a "society run by Silicon Valley...an opt-in society, ultimately outside the US, run by technology," echoing Yarvin's ideas.

2013: Co-founded Tlon Corp to Build Urbit

In 2013, Curtis Yarvin co-founded Tlon Corp, based in San Francisco, to further develop Urbit with funding from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.

2013: Shifted Focus from Blog to Urbit

In 2013, Curtis Yarvin largely stopped updating his blog, Unqualified Reservations, to focus on Urbit.

2013: Co-founded Tlon to Oversee Urbit Project

In 2013, Yarvin co-founded the company Tlon to oversee the Urbit project.

2014: Stopped Writing Unqualified Reservations

In 2014, Curtis Yarvin largely stopped writing on his blog Unqualified Reservations.

April 2016: Unqualified Reservations "Completed its Mission"

In April 2016, Curtis Yarvin announced that his blog Unqualified Reservations had "completed its mission" and was finished.

2016: Yarvin claims to be coaching Thiel

In 2016, Curtis Yarvin privately asserted to Milo Yiannopoulos that he had been "coaching Thiel" and watched the US election at Thiel's house.

2016: Invited to Present on Urbit at LambdaConf

In 2016, Yarvin was invited to present on the functional programming aspects of Urbit at LambdaConf 2016, leading to controversy and withdrawals due to his views.

February 2017: Yarvin Gains Public Attention After Politico Report

In February 2017, Curtis Yarvin gained public attention after Politico reported that Steve Bannon read his blog, and that Yarvin reportedly had a line to the White House.

January 2019: Yarvin Leaves Tlon

In January 2019, Curtis Yarvin left Tlon, though he retained some intellectual and financial interests in Urbit's development.

2019: Left Tlon

In 2019, Curtis Yarvin left Tlon, the company he co-founded to oversee Urbit, while still retaining intellectual and financial interests in the project.

2020: Started Gray Mirror Blog on Substack

In 2020, Curtis Yarvin started another blog called Gray Mirror of the Nihilist Prince, or simply Gray Mirror, on Substack.

2020: Started Newsletter Gray Mirror

In 2020, Yarvin started his newsletter Gray Mirror, where he continued to express his political views.

May 2021: Anton Discusses Yarvin's Views on Presidential Power

In May 2021, Michael Anton discussed Yarvin's views suggesting a president could gain power lawfully and then exercise it unlawfully.

2021: Death of Jennifer Kollmer

In 2021, Jennifer Kollmer, Yarvin's wife, passed away due to a rare hereditary condition. They had two children together.

2021: JD Vance Cites Yarvin as an Influence

In 2021, Vice President JD Vance cited Curtis Yarvin as an influence, mentioning Yarvin's concept of "Retire All Government Employees" (RAGE).

2024: Yarvin Returns to Tlon

In 2024, Curtis Yarvin returned to Tlon in a role described as "wartime C.E.O," which led to the resignation of several top employees.

2024: Marriage to Kristine Militello

In 2024, Yarvin married Kristine Militello.

January 2025: Attended Trump Inaugural Gala in Washington D.C.

In January 2025, Curtis Yarvin attended a Trump inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., hosted by Passage Press.

January 2025: Attended Trump Inaugural Gala

In January 2025, Yarvin attended a Trump inaugural gala in Washington as an informal guest of honor due to his influence on the Trumpian right.

January 2025: Yarvin Suggests Authoritarian Actions in Inaugural Address

In January 2025, Yarvin discussed potential authoritarian actions a president could take, such as declaring a state of emergency in their inaugural address.

January 2025: Historical Reasoning in New York Times Interview

In a January 2025 New York Times interview, Yarvin suggested historical precedent to support his reasoning, citing Franklin Delano Roosevelt's actions.