ESOC 210 Richard Stallman Timeline

By katemagnesen

  • Birth

    Birth
    Richard Stallman is born on March 16, 1953 in New York City.

  • College

    College
    Stallman attends Harvard University for his undergraduate studies. He receives a degree in physics in 1974.

  • Graduate School

    Graduate School
    Attends graduate school at MIT, leaving after one year to "[focus] his full attention on his programming at the MIT Laboratory"(Roy).

  • GNU Project

    GNU Project
    Stallman begins working on the GNU (standing for GNU's Not Unix), which he wanted to create in order to give users access to free software. They would be able to modify, add to, and copy software

  • Copyleft Movement

    Copyleft Movement
    The concept of copyleft, which was developed by Stallman, becomes a way to offer and distribute software to the public for free.

  • GNU Manifesto

    GNU Manifesto
    The GNU Manifesto tells of Stallman's hope for a world in which free software can become the norm. It also shows his desire for GNU to expand.

  • The Free Software Foundation

    The Free Software Foundation
    Stallman is the founder of the Free Software Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that was created to "promote computer user freedom"(fsf.org).

  • Linux Kernel

    Linux Kernel
    Though invented by Linus Torvalds, the Linux kernel is created for free using GNU tools, which has massive impacts on the tech world at the time.

  • The Right to Read

    The Right to Read
    The Right to Read, a short story written by Stallman, is published. The story highlights the dangers of losing the right to share books and literature.

  • Pioneer Award

    Pioneer Award
    He receives the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation which is awarded to those that empower people to use and learn with computers.

  • Activism in India

    Activism in India
    Stallman convinces the Indian government of Kerala to change school computer programs to free software programming in schools, rather than using Windows.

  • Helping International Music Score Library Project

    Helping International Music Score Library Project
    The International Music Score Library Project receives a cease and desist from Universal; Stallman helps to get them back up and running.

  • Supporting Edward Snowden

    Supporting Edward Snowden
    Stallman publicly talks on his support of Edward Snowden after he exposed the US government for surveillance. Stallman calls mobile phones "'portable surveillance and tracking devices'".

  • Resignation from MIT

    Resignation from MIT
    Stallman makes the decision to resign from MIT after making comments in an email chain regarding a victim of Jeffery Epstein's is released.

  • Returning to the FSF

    Returning to the FSF
    Stallman announces that he wants to return to the Free Software Foundation, but many call on his removal soon after his return.