Linus Torvalds

Birth

Dec 28, 1969

Linus Benedict Torvalds was born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland.

First Computer

Jan 1, 1987

In 1987, Torvalds bought his first computer, which was a Sinclair QL. Torvalds began to create programs in BASIC and assembly language.

Education

Jan 1, 1988

Torvalds went to the University of Helsinki (1988-1996) and received a master's degree in Computer Science.

Torvalds Announces Linux

Aug 25, 1991

Torvalds announces on the MINIX newsgroup that he is working on an operating system based on MINIX and UNIX.

First Official Version of Linux Released

Oct 5, 1991

Linux version 0.02, the first official version, was released with the ability to run the bash shell and the GCC compiler.

ext2 Filesystem

Jan 1, 1994

In 1994 Torvalds added the ext2 filesystem which replaced the ext filesystem and yielded a large increase in speed and improved network capability.

Linux Version 2.0 Released

Dec 1, 1996

Linux version 2.0 is released, which was a major update to Linux. Added support for more processors, which could expand the user base, and the Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) feature.

Linux Popularity Rises

Jan 1, 1997

Linux becomes more popular, with 3 million users in 1997, and 7 million by 1999.

Torvalds' Move and New Job

Jan 2, 1997

Torvalds accepted a job in California with the Transmeta Corporation developing commercial software.

Torvalds' Becomes a Millionaire

Jan 1, 1999

Linus suddenly becomes a millionaire when Red Hat and VA Linux provide him with stock options as they release Linux-based software packages to large enterprises.

Recognition For Linus Torvalds

Jan 2, 1999

In 1999, MIT Technology Review chose Torvalds as one of the 100 top innovators under 35.

Support From IBM

Jan 1, 2001

IBM chooses to support Linux by committing a billion dollars to Linux research, development, and promotion in 2001.

Move Again and OSDL

Jan 1, 2004

In 2004, Torvalds moves to Portland to work on Linux at the recently founded Open Source Development Labs (OSDL).

Richard Stallman Criticizes Torvalds

Jan 1, 2010

In 2010, Richard Stallman criticized Torvalds for the naming of Linux. Linux incorporates many of the GNU tools created by Richard Stallman and Stallman believes that Linux should be called GNU/Linux to give the GNU the recognition it deserves.

Linux Today

Jan 1, 2020

In 2020, Linux has reached millions of lines of code, surprisingly only 2% of which were written by Linus Torvalds. Though Linux is not often used by average users, it is a common option for supercomputers, due to being lightweight and reliable.