About Linux Torvalds

Linux was developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland. He started his work in 1991. The effort expanded with volunteers contributing code and documentation over the internet. It is currently developed under the GNU public license and is freely available in source and binary form.

Linus displays Linux running on a notebook pc

As for Linus, he remains a simple man. Unlike Bill Gates, he is not a billionaire. Linus Torvalds was born on December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland. He is the son of Nils and Anna Torvalds. Both parents pursued careers in journalism. Linus took an early interest in computers mainly through the influence of his maternal grandfather. He excelled in math in secondary school. Linus and his family are part of a minority in Finland whose first language is not Finnish but Swedish, a fact which is not widely known. For this reason, early references to his pronunciation of Linux in Swedish were not understood or often cited as an error. Having completed studies, he moved to USA and landed a job at Transmeta Corporation.

In 1993, Linus was teaching an introductory computer course at the University of Helsinki. A young woman in the class named Tove Monni emailed him and asked him out on a date. She would later become his wife. Tove and Linus went on to have three daughters, Patricia, Miranda and Daniela. But he remains as the world's most favorite and most famous programmer to this date. Revered by Computer communities worldwide, Linus is by far the most popular programmer on this planet.

Linus in 2002

Torvalds said he had no qualms with Gates's or Microsoft's financial success, he simply detested poorly engineered software. By 1999 an estimated seven million computers were running on Linux, still available free of charge, and many major software companies had announced plans to support it. Meanwhile, Torvalds had taken a position with Transmeta Corp., owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, working on a top-secret project that many in the high-tech community assumed would involve some future assault on the Microsoft empire.

Honors and awards
1997 Linus Torvalds Receives 1997 Nokia Foundation Award.
March 1997 Linus Torvalds receives Lifetime Achievement Award at Uniforum.