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Linus Torvalds

By parkershaw

  • Birth-Date

    Birth-Date
    Linus Torvalds was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1969. He is the son of a statistician and poet.

  • Begins Writing Code

    Begins Writing Code
    When he was 11, Torvalds began programming in BASIC, and in 1991 he wrote a Pac-Man clone.
  • Period: to

    Attends University of Helsinki

    Linus Torvalds attended the University of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland and graduated with a master's degree in computer science.

  • Joins the Finnish Army

    Joins the Finnish Army
    Torvalds studies were interrupted when he joined the Army in 1989 in order to fulfill the mandatory military service requirement of Finland. He held the rank of Second Lieutenant.

  • First Linux Prototypes Publicly Released

    The first Linux prototype were publicly released in 1991. Version 1.0 was released on March 14, 1994.

  • Receives His First Copy of UNIX

    Receives His First Copy of UNIX
    Torvalds received his first copy of MINIX which allowed him to work on Linux after purchasing an Intel clone of a popular IBM PC.

  • Linux Version 1.0 is Released

  • Finishes His M.Sc Thesis

    Finishes His M.Sc Thesis
    Torvalds completed his Masters thesis in 1996 titled "Linux: A Portable Operating System"
  • Period: to

    Worked at Transmeta Corporation in California

    Transmeta was a semiconductor manufacturing company.

  • Inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame

    Inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame