Richard Stallman

By etaz

  • Richard Stallman's Early life

    Born on March 16, 1953 in New York City.

  • Highschool Programming

    Learned programming in high school, developing an early interest in computers.

  • Hacker culture at MIT

    Became immersed in the "hacker culture" at MIT, contributing to software projects.

  • MIT AI Lab

    Began working at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab while still a student.

  • Conflict over propriety software

    Experienced frustrations with proprietary software after Symbolics Inc. restricted access to their code.

  • GNU Tool Developments

    Oversaw the development of tools like GCC and GDB.

  • Richard Stallman's GNU project

    Launched the GNU project to create free software.

  • Development of GNU Emacs

    Released GNU Emacs, one of the first components of the GNU operating system.

  • Founding of free software foundations

    Established the Free Software Foundation (FSF) to support the free software movement.

  • Introduction to Copyleft

    Introduced the concept of "copyleft," ensuring software remains free for all users.

  • Creation of the GNU General Public License

    Released the GNU GPL, the first license to formalize the rights to use, modify, and share software.

  • Award and Recognitions

    Received the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award and MacArthur Fellowship for his work.

  • Advocacy for Digital Rights

    campaigned against DRM and other restrictions on software.

  • Induction into the internet Hall of Fame

    Honored for his contributions to the development and promotion of free software.