Bill Gates

Bill Gates is Born

Oct 28, 1955

William "Bill" Henry Gates is born on October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington. Son of William Henry Gates II and Mary Gates.

Lakeside

Aug 27, 1967

Bill is enrolled in Lakeside School, a private school in Seattle, and befriends Paul Allen, who share similar interests in computer programming with Bill. Paul will become Bill's future business partner in Microsoft.

Harvard

Aug 24, 1973

Bill enters Harvard and shifts focus on mathematics and computer science courses.

MIT Software

Mar 11, 1975

In the university of Harvard, Bill is offered the opportunity to develop software for MITs Altair, and takes absence from school to work on the software he refers to as Micro-Soft.

Microsoft

Jun 22, 1976

Bill drops out of school to work on Microsoft full time, and has Paul Allen as his partner. Gates and Allen register the trademark "Microsoft."

Microsoft HQ

Mar 11, 1977

Bill sets up Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Gaining a Reputation

Mar 11, 1978

Microsoft's year-end sales exeed $1 million and Gates gains a reputation.

Microsoft HQ 2.0

Mar 11, 1979

Microsofts relocates to Bellevue, Washington, near Bill's hometown, Seattle.

MS-DOS

Mar 11, 1981

Microsoft incorporates and buys the rights to operating system "DOS," which is later renamed "MS-DOS" and becomes the company's new personal computer.

Allen's Going Away

Mar 11, 1983

Allen gains Hodgkins's disease, and leaves Microsoft.

Windows

Mar 11, 1985

Microsoft releases its first version of Windows as an extension to MS-DOS operating system.

Microsoft HQ 3.0

Mar 11, 1986

Microsoft headquarters relocates once again to Redmond, Washington. The company finally goes public shortly after.

Youngest Billionare Alive

Mar 11, 1987

Bill Gates becomes the youngest billionare alive at age 31, and meets his future wife, Melinda French, at a Microsoft convention.

Married Couple

Mar 11, 1994

Bill marries Melinda and have three children. Jennifer Katharine Gates, Phoebe Adele Gates, and Rory John Gates. The Gateses start charitable giving under The William H. Gates Foundation, named after Bill's father.

Internet Explorer

Mar 11, 1995

Microsoft introduces Windows 95 and Internet Explorer, which explodes among the public. Bill also becomes the richest man alive at age 39.

Popularity

Mar 11, 1999

Bill publishes another best selling book, Business @ the Speed of Thought, and begins to appear more in pop culture. Appearing in television and movies

CEO Steps Down

Mar 11, 2000

Bill steps down as CEO of Microsoft and Steve Ballmer takes his place. Bill becomes chief sotware architect. Also, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is formed.

Xbox

Mar 11, 2001

Microsoft releases Windows XP and Xbox game system, which was a worldwide success.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Mar 11, 2006

Bill announces his job as an executive at Microsoft will be phased out over the next few years and he intends to spend more time working on The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Retirement

Jun 27, 2008

Bill announces his retirement from his day to day duties at his company on June 27, but will still be advisor on important development projects. He loses his spot as richest man alive, keeping the spot for many years, and plans to pour as much energy into The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as he did into Microsoft.