The Story of Linus Torvalds

Here is a summarized version of the life story of someone I admire the most.

Linus Torvalds was born on December 28, 1969. He is the son of the journalists Anna and Nils Torvalds. His interest in computers and software began in 1981 when he get a 8 bit computer VIC-20 and started programming for it in BASIC. He continue his journey by obtaining more advanced computers and improving his skills in tecnology. He studied at the University of Helsinki between 1989 and 1996, earning a master's degree in computer science.

Torvalds started his most well-known project, Linux, in 1996 with the goal of create an open-source and free operating system. In 1994, he decided to license the Linux Kernel under the General Public License (GPL), allowing for the collaborative and open development of the Linux operating system.

After that, in 1996, he moved to Silicon Valley to start working at a semiconductor company called Transmeta Corporation. In 1999, he married Tove Monni in Helsinki. Later, in 2003, he co-wrote the book "Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary" with David Diamond. It is a humorous autobiography where Torvalds talks about his life and thoughts on the free software movement and the development of Linux.

In 2005, he made one of his most important contributions to the software development world by creating the version control system GIT, an indispensable tool for people working in software development, used worldwide and helping millions of developers. Without GIT maybe we wouldn`t have the great advances in technology of the latest years.

In 2012, he received the well-deserved Millennium Prize from the Finland Technology Foundation for his contributions to the development of free software. Eight years later, Linus Torvalds announced a temporary break from Linux Kernel development to dedicate time to himself.

In 2022, he returned from his break to continue working on Linux and has been working on it until today.