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Born into the World
Torvalds was born in Helsinki, Finland. He is the son of journalists Anna and Nils Torvalds, and the grandson of poet Ole Torvalds. Both of his parents were campus radicals at the University of Helsinki in the 1960s. His family belongs to the Swedish-speaking minority. Torvalds was named after Linus Pauling, the Nobel Prize–winning American chemist. -
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Studied at the University of Helsinki
Between 1988 and 1996, he studied at the University of Helsinki, from where he obtained a master’s degree in computer science. He belonged to the NODES research group. -
Obtained MINIX OS
In 1991, he purchased the Intel 80386-based IBM PC and obtained a MINIX operating system. With this, he began to work and research on the Linux operating system.
Read more at http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/linus-torvalds-3972.php#vR30PcuSCh8xXmOV.99 -
Version 0.01
Version 0.01 of Torvalds project is made availible via ftp.funet.fi.Ari Lemmke, the system administrator,gives the dictory the name Linix -
GNU + Linux Kernal
Richard Stallman expresses interest in having the Free Software Foundation distribute a GNU system with the Linux kernel. -
Started Work At Transmeta
In 1996, he went on a visit to the technology firm, ‘Transmeta’, where he began to work from the following year. He later worked for the Open Source Development Labs. -
Tux is Suggested
Linus Torvalds suggests that a “slightly overweight penguin” would be the best mascot for Linux. He recommends Larry Ewing’s “Tux” penguin images. -
Linux Trademark Disputes
Linus Torvalds along with Linux Journal, Yggdrasil Computing, Inc., Linux International Work Group Solutions and with the help of Digital Equipment Corporation and Red Hat, file suit against William R. Della Croce, Jr. to re-assign the Linux trademark to Linus Torvalds. The firm of Davis & Schroeder handles the case on an almost pro-bono basis. -
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Worked on 86open
From 1997 to 1999, he worked on the '86open' project, which is a binary file format for the ‘Unix’ and Unix-like operating systems. They were to be used on a common x86 PC. -
Linus Makes the Cover of Forbes
Forbes magazine devotes its cover story to Linus Torvalds. -
Offered Stock Options by Red Hat
In 1999, he was offered stock options for his creation by the companies, Red Hat and VA Linux. That very year, the stock prices increased to about $20 million after the companies went public. -
Just For Fun Released
Linus Torvalds publishes his autobiography entitled Just for Fun with the help of journalist David Diamond. -
Bitkeeper Causes Controversy
Linus Torvalds begins using BitMover’s BitKeeper to manage kernel development. Bitkeeper is proprietary software and many, including Richard Stallman, criticize the decision. -
Moved to Oregon
In June 2004, along with his family, he relocated to Beaverton, Oregon, where Open Source Development Labs was headquartered. -
Creates "Git"
Git is a distributed revision control system with an emphasis on speed,data integrity,and support for distributed, non-linear workflows. Git was initially designed and developed by Linus Torvalds for Linux kernel development in 2005, and has since become the most widely adopted version control system for software development. -
Torvalds Does not Support GNU v3
Linus Torvalds reveals that he doesn’t like the anti-DRM provisions in the draft for version 3 of the GNU General Public License and as it stands, he won’t convert the Linux kernel to it. -
Cumulatively Contributed 2% of the Linux Kernel
By 2006, about two per cent of the Linux kernel was written by him, which was a significant contribution
