-
Date of Birth
Born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington. -
Gates meets lifelong friend and business partner, Paul Allen
Gates and Allen both attended Lakeside High School starting in 1967. -
Enrolls as Student at Harvard University
Gates enrolls as full-time Student at the esteemed Harvard University. -
Drops out of Harvard
Gates dropped out of Harvard to develop software. -
Bill Gates and Paul Allen create Microsoft
Gates and Allen trademark "Microsoft". -
Microsoft is set up in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Gates sets up Microsoft in Albuquerque, where the maker of the worlds first personal computer is headquartered. -
Microsoft relocated to Bellevue, Washington
Microsoft headquarters moved to Bellevue, Washington near gates hometown of Seattle. -
Microsoft licenses MS-DOS to IBM for their first personal computer
Microsoft acquires MS-DOS and licenses it to IBM for their first personal computer. -
Microsoft relocated to Redmond, Washington
Shorty after the company went public, Microsoft headquarters moved again, this time to Redmond, Washington. -
Paul Allen quits Microsoft
Paul Allen quits his job besides Gates at after 13 years at Microsoft. -
Bill marries Melinda Gates
Gates marries his employee Melinda. -
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation created
Gates starts the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which works to improve the lives of all people. -
Gates is Knighted and named "Person of the Year"
Queen Elizabeth II bestows and honorary knighthood on Gates for his contributions to the United Kingdom. Time names him a "Person of the Year" -
Gates begins to phase himself out of Microsoft
Gates announces his role at Microsoft will be phased out over the next few years so he can spend more time on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. -
Returns to Harvard for honorary degree
After Gates' many accomplishments, Harvard felt it was "high time that his alma mater hand over the diploma" (Malone).