The Life Of Bill Gates

Birth

Oct 28, 1955

Bill Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, to William H. Gates, Sr. and Mary Maxwell Gates. His family was upper middle class. Source

Attends Lakeside School

Period: Sep 1, 1967 to Jun 30, 1973

At age 13 he enrolled in Lakeside School, an exclusive preparatory school. When he was in the eight grade the school purchased an ASR-33 teletype terminal and a block of computer time on the General Electric (GE) computer for the school's students. Gates took interest in programming the GE system in BASIC and was excused from math classes to pursue his interest.
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Enrolls At Harvard University

Jul 1, 1973

Gates started studying at Harvard University in 1973 where he spent time with Paul Allen. They worked on a version of the programming language BASIC, that was the basis for the MITS Altair (the first microcomputer available). He didn't end up graduating from Harvard University as he left in his junior year to start what was to become the largest computer software company in the world; Microsoft. Source

Bill Gates and Paul Allen Form Microsoft

Apr 4, 1975

Paul Allen was hired into MITS, and Gates took a leave of absence from Harvard to work with Allen at MITS in Albuquerque in November 1975. They named their partnership "Micro-Soft" and had their first office located in Albuquerque.
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Bill Gates wires "Open Letter to Hobbyists"

Feb 1, 1976

The Open Letter to Hobbyists was an open letter written by Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, to early personal computer hobbyists, in which Gates expresses dismay at the rampant copyright infringement taking place in the hobbyist community, particularly with regard to his company's software.
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Microsoft opens first international office in Japan

Nov 1, 1978

The company's first international office was founded on November 1, 1978, in Japan, titled "ASCII Microsoft"
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Microsoft moves headquarters to Bellevue, Washington

Jan 1, 1979

Microsoft became independent of MITS in late 1976, and it continued to develop programming language software for various systems. The company moved from Albuquerque to its new home in Bellevue, Washington on January 1, 1979. Source

Microsoft partners with IBM to wrtie the BASIC for the IBM PC

Jan 1, 1980

In 1980, IBM approached Microsoft to write the BASIC interpreter for its upcoming personal computer, the IBM PC.
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Microsoft becomes incorporated and Bill Gates becomes President

Jun 25, 1981

Gates oversaw Microsoft's company restructuring on June 25, 1981, which re-incorporated the company in Washington and made Gates President of Microsoft and the Chairman of the Board.
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Bill Gates founds Corbis

Jan 1, 1989

Corbis Corporation is an American company, based in Seattle, Washington, that sells and otherwise distributes photography and film footage and related rights.
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Bill Gates marries Melinda French

Jan 1, 1994

Bill Gates married Melinda French from Dallas, Texas. They now have three children: Jennifer Katharine (1996), Rory John (1999) and Phoebe Adele (2002).
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Belgium Pie Incedent

Jan 1, 1998

In Belgium, on his way to meet business and government leaders, Gates is hit in the face with a cream pie. The incident was orchestrated by Noel Godin, a Belgian who gained notoriety for throwing pies at high-profile individuals.
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United States v. Microsoft Trial

May 18, 1998

United States v. Microsoft was a set of consolidated civil actions filed against Microsoft Corporation pursuant to the Sherman Antitrust Act on May 18, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and 20 U.S. states. The issue central to the case was whether Microsoft was allowed to bundle its flagship Internet Explorer web browser software with its Microsoft Windows operating system.
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Bill Gates Steps Down From CEO

Jan 1, 2000

Bill Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January, 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect.
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Bill Gates Knighted

Mar 2, 2005

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II presents Bill Gates with honorary knighthood at Buckingham palace in London, England.
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Bill Gates “graduates” from Harvard

Jun 7, 2007

Bill Gates gives the commandment speech, and Harvard gave him a honorary doctor of laws degree.
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Bill Gates Steps Down from Daily Duties

Jun 27, 2008

On June 27, 2008, Bill Gates retired from day-to day activities in the company, following a two year transition period from his role as Chief Software Architect, which was taken by Ray Ozzie, but remained the company's chairman, head of the Board of Directors and would act as an adviser on key projects
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