Linus Torvalds
Born	December 28, 1969 (1969-12-28) (age 38) Helsinki, Finland
Residence	Portland, Oregon
Nationality	Finnish
Occupation	Software engineer
Employers	Linux Foundation
Known for	Linux
Spouse	Tove Torvalds
Children	Patricia Miranda Torvalds Daniela Yolanda Torvalds Celeste Amanda Torvalds
Parents	Nils Torvalds (father) Anna Torvalds (mother)
Relatives	Ole Torvalds (grandfather)
Website www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/torvalds/

Linus Benedict Torvalds (pronunciation (help·info); [ˈliːnɵs ˈtuːrvalds]; born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish software engineer best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel. He now acts as the project's coordinator. Download high resolution version (600x920, 94 KB)This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Province Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - Mayor Jussi Pajunen Area  - Total 187. ... Nickname: Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: , Country State Counties Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Type Commission  - Mayor Tom Potter[1]  - Commissioners Sam Adams Randy Leonard Dan Saltzman Erik Sten  - Auditor Gary Blackmer Area  - City 376. ... Language(s) Finnish, Swedish Languages related to Finnish include Estonian, Karelian, Vepsian, Võro and to a lesser extent, all Finno-Ugric Languages. ... Software engineering (SE) is the profession concerned with specifying, designing, developing and maintaining software applications by applying technologies and practices from computer science, project management, and other fields. ... The Linux Foundation (LF) is a non-profit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ... Nils Torvalds works with Swedish language radio and TV in Finland. ... Ole Torvalds (1916-1995) was a Finland-Swedish journalist and poet from Finland. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Province Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - Mayor Jussi Pajunen Area  - Total 187. ... Software engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software. ... The Linux kernel is a Unix-like operating system kernel. ...

Biography

Early years

Linus Torvalds was born in Helsinki, Finland, the son of journalists Anna and Nils Torvalds,^[1] and the grandson of poet Ole Torvalds. His family belongs to the Swedish-speaking minority (5.5%) of Finland's population. Torvalds was named after Linus Pauling, the American Nobel Prize-winning chemist, although in the book Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, Torvalds is quoted as saying, "I think I was named equally for Linus the peanut-cartoon character," noting that this makes him half "Nobel-prize-winning chemist" and half "blanket-carrying cartoon character."^[2] Both of his parents were campus radicals at the University of Helsinki in the 1960s. Nils Torvalds works with Swedish language radio and TV in Finland. ... Ole Torvalds (1916-1995) was a Finland-Swedish journalist and poet from Finland. ... Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American scientist, peace activist, author and educator of German ancestry. ... The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ) was established in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. ... Linus van Pelt is one of the characters in Charles M. Schulzs comic strip Peanuts. ... For other uses, see Peanut (disambiguation). ... University of Helsinki is not to be confused with Helsinki University of Technology. ...

Torvalds attended the University of Helsinki from 1988 to 1996, graduating with a master's degree in computer science. His M.Sc. thesis was titled Linux: A Portable Operating System. From 1997 to 1999 he was involved in 86open helping to choose the standard binary format for Linux and Unix. Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ... In computing, 86open was a project to form consensus on a common binary file format for Unix and Unix-like operating systems on the common PC compatible x86 architecture, so as to encourage software developers to port to the architecture. ... Filiation of Unix and Unix-like systems Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®, sometimes also written as or ® with small caps) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. ...

His interest in computers began with a Commodore VIC-20.^[3] After the VIC-20 he purchased a Sinclair QL which he modified extensively, especially its operating system. He programmed an assembler and a text editor for the QL, as well as a few games.^[4] He is known to have written a Pac-Man clone named Cool Man. In 1990 he purchased an Intel 80386-based IBM PC and spent a few weeks playing the game Prince of Persia before receiving his MINIX copy which in turn enabled him to begin his work on Linux.^[2] The VIC-20 (Germany: VC-20; Japan: VIC-1001) is an 8-bit home computer. ... The Sinclair QL (for Quantum Leap), was a personal computer launched by Sinclair Research in 1984, as the successor to the ZX Spectrum. ... An assembly language is a low-level language for programming computers. ... Notepad is the standard text editor for Microsoft Windows A text editor is a piece of computer software for editing plain text. ... Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution by Midway Games in 1979. ... 386 DX redirects here. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... MINIX is a free/open source, Unix-like operating system (OS) based on a microkernel architecture. ...

Later years

Linus Torvalds is married to Tove Torvalds (née Monni) – a six-time Finnish national Karate champion – whom he first met in the autumn of 1993.^[5] Torvalds was running introductory computer laboratory exercises for students and instructed the course attendants to send him an e-mail as a test, to which Tove responded with an e-mail asking for a date.^[2] Tove and Linus were later married and have three daughters, Patricia, Daniela, and Celeste.^[6] The French word née (feminine) or né (masculine) (or the English word nee) is still commonly used in some newspapers when mentioning the maiden name of a woman in engagement or wedding announcements. ... For other uses, see Karate (disambiguation). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

After a visit to Transmeta in late 1996, ^[7] he accepted a position at the company in California, where he would work from February 1997 through June 2003. He then moved to the Open Source Development Labs, which has since merged with the Free Standards Group to become the Linux Foundation, under whose auspices he continues to work. In June of 2004, Torvalds and his family moved to Portland, Oregon to be closer to the consortium's Beaverton, Oregon-based headquarters. Transmeta NASDAQ: TMTA develops computing technologies with a focus on reducing power consumption in electronic devices. ... Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) was founded in 2000 and has investment backing from Computer Associates, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Intel, NEC and others. ... The Free Standards Group is an industry non-profit consortium that primarily specifies and drives the adoption of the open source standards. ... The Linux Foundation (LF) is a non-profit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. ... Nickname: Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: , Country State Counties Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Type Commission  - Mayor Tom Potter[1]  - Commissioners Sam Adams Randy Leonard Dan Saltzman Erik Sten  - Auditor Gary Blackmer Area  - City 376. ... Location in Oregon Coordinates: , Country State County Washington Incorporated 1893 Government  - Mayor Rob Drake Area  - Total 16. ...

Red Hat and VA Linux, both leading developers of Linux-based software, presented Torvalds with stock options in gratitude for his creation. In 1999, both companies went public and Torvalds' net worth shot up to roughly $20 million.^[8] For other uses, see Red Hat (disambiguation). ... LNUX stock price (09-Dec-1999 through 09-Dec-2000) VA Software Corporation (NASDAQ: LNUX), formerly VA Linux Systems (and VA Research before that), is the provider of the SourceForge Development Intelligence application. ... Main article: Option A stock option is a specific type of option that uses the stock itself as an underlying instrument to determine the options pay-off (and therefore its value). ... IPO redirects here. ... Net worth (sometimes net assets) is the total assets minus total liabilities of an individual or company. ...

His personal mascot is a penguin nicknamed Tux, which has been widely adopted by the Linux community as the mascot of the Linux kernel. Modern genera Aptenodytes Eudyptes Eudyptula Megadyptes Pygoscelis Spheniscus For prehistoric genera, see Systematics Some penguins are curious. ... Tux, as originally drawn by Larry Ewing Tux (also known as Tux the Penguin) is the official mascot of the Linux kernel. ...

Unlike many open source icons, Torvalds maintains a low profile and generally refuses to comment on competing software products. Torvalds generally stays out of non-kernel-related debates. Although Torvalds believes that "open source is the only right way to do software", he also has said that he uses the "best tool for the job", even if that includes proprietary software.^[9] He has been criticized for his use and alleged advocacy of the proprietary BitKeeper software for version control in the Linux kernel. However, Torvalds has since written a free-software replacement for BitKeeper called Git. Torvalds has commented on official GNOME developmental mailing lists that, in terms of desktop environments, he encourages users to switch to KDE^[10] and he explained why.^[11] Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... Proprietary software is software with restrictions on copying and modifying as enforced by the proprietor. ... BitKeeper is a software tool for revision control (configuration management, SCM, etc. ... Git is a distributed revision control / software configuration management project created by Linus Torvalds to manage software development of the Linux kernel. ... This article is about the mythical creature. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... For the NYSE stock ticker symbol KDE, see 4Kids Entertainment. ...

The Linus/Linux connection

Main article: History of Linux

Initially Torvalds wanted to call the kernel he developed Freax (a combination of "free", "freak", and the letter X to indicate that it is a Unix-like system), but his friend Ari Lemmke, who administered the FTP server where the kernel was first hosted for downloading, named Torvalds' directory linux. This timeline shows the development of the Linux kernel. ... Ari Lemmke (born December 12, 1963) is the person who gave Linux its name. ... This article is about the File Transfer Protocol standardised by the IETF. For other file transfer protocols, see File transfer protocol (disambiguation). ... In information technology, a server is an application or device that performs services for connected clients as part of a client-server architecture. ...

Authority on Linux

About 2% of the current Linux kernel is written by Torvalds himself.^[6] Since Linux has had thousands of contributors, such a percentage represents a significant personal contribution to the overall amount of code. Torvalds remains the ultimate authority on what new code is incorporated into the standard Linux kernel.^[12]

Linux trademark

Torvalds owns the "Linux" trademark, and monitors^[13] use of it chiefly through the non-profit organization Linux International. “(TM)” redirects here. ... A non-profit organization (abbreviated NPO, or non-profit or not-for-profit) is an organization whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes, without concern for monetary profit. ... Linux International is a non-profit association of groups, corporations and others that work towards the promotion of growth of the Linux operating system and the Linux community. ...

Recognition

• In 1996 Asteroid 9793 Torvalds was named after Linus Torvalds.
• In 1998 he received an EFF Pioneer Award.^[14]
• In 1999 he received honorary doctor status at Stockholm University.
• The 1999 novel Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson features several characters who use "Finux" a Unix-like operating system developed in Finland.
• In 2000 he received honorary doctor status at University of Helsinki.
• In 2000 he was awarded the Lovelace Medal.^[15]
• In the Time magazine's Person of the Century Poll, Torvalds was voted at #17 at the poll's close in 2000.^[16]
• In 2001, he shared the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Well-Being with Richard Stallman and Ken Sakamura.
• The 2001 film Swordfish contains a Finnish character – the number one computer hacker in the world – named Axl Torvalds.
• In 2004, he was named one of the most influential people in the world by the Time magazine article "Linus Torvalds: The Free-Software Champion" by Lawrence Lessig, Time Magazine, posted Monday, Apr. 26, 2004, retrieved October 3, 2006.
• In the search for the 100 Greatest Finns of all time, voted in the summer of 2004, Torvalds placed 16th.
• In 2005 he appeared as one of "the best managers" in a survey by BusinessWeek.^[17]
• In August 2005, Torvalds received the Vollum Award from Reed College.^[18]
• In 2006, Business 2.0 magazine named him one of "10 people who don't matter" because the growth of Linux has shrunk Torvalds' individual impact.^[19]
• In 2006, Time Magazine named him one of the revolutionary heroes of the past 60 years.^[20]

9793 Torvalds is an asteroid discovered on January 16, 1996 by Spacewatch. ... EFF Logo The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit advocacy and legal organization based in the United States with the stated purpose of being dedicated to preserving free speech rights such as those protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in the context of... The EFF Pioneer Award is an annual prize for people who have made significant contributions to the empowerment of individuals in using computers. ... Stockholm University (Stockholms universitet) is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. ... Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by Neal Stephenson. ... Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer, known primarily for his science fiction works in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for explorations of society, mathematics, currency, and the history of science. ... University of Helsinki is not to be confused with Helsinki University of Technology. ... The Lovelace Medal was established by the British Computer Society in 1998. ... TIME redirects here. ... TIME Magazines 100 most influential people of the 20th century (called the TIME 100 for short) is a list of the 20th centurys most influential politicians, artists, innovators, scientists and icons, compiled by TIME Magazine. ... The annual Takeda Awards were presented in 2001 and 2002 by the Takeda Foundation. ... Richard Matthew Stallman (born March 16, 1953), often abbreviated rms,[2] is an American software freedom activist, hacker,[3] and software developer. ... Ken Sakamura (坂村 健 Sakamura Ken, July 25, 1951 - ) is a Japanese professor in electrical engineering. ... Swordvag1na (sometimes referred to as Password: Swordvag1na or Operation: Swordvag1na) is an action/thriller film. ... TIME redirects here. ... Not to be confused with Lawrence Lessing. ... Suuret suomalaiset (Great Finns) was a 2004 television show by YLE (the Finnish Broadcasting Company), which determined the 100 greatest Finns of all time according to the opinions of its viewers. ... BusinessWeek is a business magazine published by McGraw-Hill. ... Howard Vollum, (1913-1986) an engineer, scientist, and philanthropist, was the co-founder of Tektronix Corporation, and endowed the Vollum Institute. ... Reed College is a private, independent liberal arts college located in Portland, Oregon. ... cover Business 2. ... TIME redirects here. ...

See also

• Linus's Law
• Tanenbaum-Torvalds debate
• Revolution OS
• Just for Fun

Linus Law can refer to two notions, both named after Linus Torvalds. ... The Tanenbaum-Torvalds debate is a famous debate started in 1992 by Andrew S. Tanenbaum with Linus Torvalds regarding Linux and kernel architecture in general on Usenet discussion group comp. ... Promotional poster for two disc edition of Revolution OS Revolution OS is a documentary which traces the history of GNU, Linux, Free Software and the Open Source movement. ... Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary is a humorous biography of Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, co-written with David Diamond. ...

Notes

Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary is a humorous biography of Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, co-written with David Diamond. ... HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. ...

References

External links

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Linus Torvalds

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Linus Torvalds

• Torvalds's home page (quite outdated)
• Linus Torvalds: A Very Brief and Completely Unauthorized Biography
• Torvalds On Where Linux Is Headed In 2008
• Leader of the Free World - How Linus Torvalds became the benevolent dictator of Planet Linux, the biggest collaborative project in history (Wired News)
• Benevolent Dictator. A slightly skeptical unauthorized biography and the first ten years of Linux (Softpanorama)
• Part of Business 2.0's List of "10 people who don't matter"
• The Code, a documentary featuring Torvalds
• The birth of Tux: Why Linus Torvalds chose a penguin as the Linux mascot
• What would you like to see most in minix?, thread begun by the first Usenet post by Linus Torvalds referencing his new project, followed by the advice and requests for features he received in those early weeks when Linux was first being planned
• Linus Torvalds interview on the Charlie Rose Show
• Linus Torvalds giving a tech talk at Google about source code management systems
• Linus Torvalds and His Five Entrepreneurial Lessons
• Linux Journal - 1 March 1994
• Linux Journal - 1 November 1999
• Fresh Air radio interview - 4 June 2001
• Wired Magazine - July 2003
• BusinessWeek - 18 August 2004
• The Seattle Times - 11 October 2004
• CNN 18 May 2006
• LINUX For You - June 2007
• EFYTimes - June 2007
• Interview oneOpenSource - July 2007
• apcmag -- Linus Torvalds talks future of Linux - August 2007
• ZDNet Australia Jan 2008 at Linux.conf.au

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