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Born on March 16, 1953, in New York City, Stallman would grow up to become one of the most influential figures in computing history. -
While still an undergraduate at Harvard, Stallman began working at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, where he experienced the collaborative hacker culture that inspired his later philosophies. -
Stallman’s request for source code to fix a bug in a Xerox laser printer was denied. This moment led him to realize the dangers of proprietary software. -
On September 27, 1983, Stallman launched the GNU Project to build a free Unix-like operating system and promote software freedom. -
Stallman resigned from MIT so he could write free software without institutional restrictions, ensuring GNU could remain fully open. -
The GNU Manifesto outlined his vision for a software ecosystem based on freedom and sharing rather than profit. -
Stallman created the FSF to promote computer user freedoms and support GNU development. -
The GPL was a revolutionary legal tool that guaranteed software users the freedom to run, study, modify, and share software. -
GCC became one of the most influential free software tools, widely used in both academia and industry. -
When Linus Torvalds released the Linux kernel in 1991, it combined with GNU tools to form a fully free operating system. -
The FSF launched the Savannah project to host and support free software development online. -
Stallman actively campaigned against hardware restrictions that blocked modified versions of GPL software from running (like in TiVo devices). -
GPL Version 3 was introduced to close loopholes like Tivoization and address software patents. -
After controversial comments, Stallman resigned from MIT and stepped down from FSF leadership, though he remained an influential voice.