TED was founded in 1984; the first conference happened in 1990. TED's early emphasis, consistent with a Silicon Valley center of gravity, was largely technology and design. Its co-founder was Richard Saul Wurman, credited with having coined in 1976 the term information architect. As popularity of the talks has spread, so has the range of subject matter, to cover almost all aspects of science and culture. Those who have given TED talks include Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, the founders of Google, the evangelist Billy Graham and various Nobel Prize winners.[3]
TED's curator is the British former computer journalist and magazine publisher Chris Anderson. It is owned by the Sapling Foundation.
From 2005 to 2009, three $100,000 TED Prizes were awarded annually to help its winners realise a chosen "wish to change the world". Starting in 2010, however, only one winner has been selected to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts of achieving the winner's wish. Each winner unveils their wish at the main annual conference – within the specified 18 minutes."
Here is the most recent one I've watched
