Richard Stallman

  • Richard Stallman is born in New York

  • Began working at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab

    Began working at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab
  • Contributes to the development of the EMACS text editor

    Contributes to the development of the EMACS text editor
  • Announces the GNU Project via net news

    Announces the GNU Project via net news
  • Leaves MIT to work full-time on GNU

  • Founds the Free Software Foundation (FSF)

    Founds the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
  • Publishes version 1.0 of the GNU General Public License (GPL)

    Publishes version 1.0 of the GNU General Public License (GPL)
  • Period: to

    GNU software combined with Linux kernel creates popular operating system

    GNU software combined with Linux kernel creates popular operating system
  • Launches the campaign against DRM (Defective by Design)

    Launches the campaign against DRM (Defective by Design)
  • Stallman receives Takeda Award for Social/Economic Betterment

    Stallman receives Takeda Award for Social/Economic Betterment
  • Appears in documentary Revolution OS

  • Continues speaking tours on software freedom globally

  • Warns against cloud computing and proprietary software traps

    Warns against cloud computing and proprietary software traps
  • Resigns from MIT and FSF after controversy, sparking debates

  • Returns to FSF Board, reigniting discussion around his legacy

  • Period: to

    Stallman still writes, advocates, and influences policy debates