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Bill Gates enrolled in Harvard to study law in 1973. He quickly dropped out in 1975 to found Microsoft with Paul Allen. -
From his dorm, Gates calls MITS to offer to develop software for the MITS Altair. They accept his offer and pay Gates 3k and royalties. He takes his first leave of absence to work on Micro-Soft. -
Gates sets up Microsoft in Albuquerque, N.M. -
Microsoft’s year-end sales exceed $1 million. -
At age 31, Gates becomes the youngest billionaire ever. -
Gates founds Corbis, an archive of art and photography from public and private collections. -
Bill Gates marries Melinda French -
Microsoft introduces Internet Explorer to the world, as part of Windows 95. -
Gates publishes another best-selling book, Business @ the Speed of Thought, about the interconnectedness of business and technology. -
Gates steps down as CEO of Microsoft. Federal District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson concludes Microsoft misused its monopoly power, and orders the company be split in two parts, one to produce the operating system and the other to produce other software components. -
Judge Penfield’s 2000 decision is overturned on appeal. The DOJ announces that it is no longer seeking to break up Microsoft and will instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty. An agreement is reached between the DOJ and Microsoft on Nov. 2. -
Queen Elizabeth II bestows an honorary knighthood on Gates for his contributions to the United Kingdom. -
Gates announces that his role as an executive at Microsoft will be phased out over the following two years. His intention, he says, is to spend more time working with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. -
Gates “graduates” from Harvard; the university awards him with an honorary degree. -
Gates retires from day-to-day duties at Microsoft on June 27, but stays in the role of chairman and adviser on important development projects.