1955: The Year that Shaped Information Technology
An interesting factoid is the number of immensely influential personalities in the Information Technology Industry who were born in the year 1955. Coming of age in the 1970s these icons of IT were heavily influenced by the birth of microcomputers and how computers became something accessible to practically everyone. EACOMM pays tribute to these titans of Information Technology, without which the world would be a vastly different place than it is today. Steve Jobs Co-Founder/Chairman and CEO Apple Inc. Steve Jobs, born on February 24, 1955, was an entrepreneur and visionary who co-founded Apple Inc., one of the most innovative technology companies in the world. He is widely recognized as one of the most influential figures of the technology industry. Jobs was born in San Francisco, California, and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. He grew up in Mountain View, California, where his father worked as a machinist. Jobs showed an early interest in electronics, and he began tinkering with electronics as a teenager. In 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, but dropped out after just one semester. He returned to California and took a job as a technician at Atari, a video game company. Jobs left Atari in 1974 to travel to India, where he explored Eastern spirituality and meditation. Upon his return to the United States, Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. with Steve Wozniak in 1976. The company initially focused on building personal computers for hobbyists, but quickly expanded to offer more powerful machines for business users. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Jobs oversaw the development of several key products, including the Macintosh computer, which was widely regarded as the first successful personal computer with a graphical user interface. Apple went through several ups and downs over the years, but Jobs remained at the helm and continued to push the company forward. In 1985, Jobs was fired from Apple after a power struggle with the company’s board of directors. He went on to found NeXT Computer, which developed high-end computers for the education and business markets. NeXT struggled financially, but the company’s software and operating system became the basis for Apple’s Mac OS X. In 1997, Apple acquired NeXT, and Jobs returned to the company as CEO. Under his leadership, Apple developed several groundbreaking products, including the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Jobs was known for his design sensibilities and his ability to anticipate what consumers wanted before they even knew it themselves. In addition to his work at Apple, Jobs was active in philanthropy. He donated millions of dollars to various causes, including cancer research and education. Jobs himself was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, and he passed away on October 5, 2011, at the age of 56. Eric Schmidt Chairman/CEO Google Eric Schmidt was born in Washington, D.C. in April 27,1955. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University in 1976, followed by a master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. Schmidt began his career in the technology industry in 1983, when he joined the research staff at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). In 1986, he joined Sun Microsystems, where he served as a technical leader and eventually became the company’s Chief Technology Officer. In 1997, Schmidt joined Novell, a software company, as CEO. He led the company through a difficult period and oversaw a successful restructuring, which helped to restore the company’s profitability. However, he left Novell in 2001 to join Google as CEO. Under Schmidt’s leadership, Google grew from a small startup into one of the world’s most successful technology companies. He oversaw the development of several key products, including Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Earth. He also helped to negotiate key partnerships, such as the company’s agreement to provide search technology for AOL. In addition to his work at Google, Schmidt has been active in philanthropy and public service. He served as a member of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology from 2009 to 2017. He has also been a vocal advocate for renewable energy and sustainable development. In 2011, Schmidt stepped down as CEO of Google, but he remained with the company as Executive Chairman. In this role, he focused on building relationships with governments and regulators around the world. He also oversaw the development of Google’s self-driving car project, which later became Waymo. In 2015, Schmidt announced that he would be stepping down as Executive Chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. He transitioned to a role as Technical Advisor, where he continued to work closely with Google’s leadership team. Schmidt has received numerous awards and accolades for his work in the technology industry. In 2006, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and in 2016, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama. James Gosling “Father” of the Java Programming Language James Gosling is a computer scientist and software developer known for creating the Java programming language. He was born on May 19, 1955, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Gosling attended the University of Calgary, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science in 1977. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1983. After completing his doctoral studies, Gosling joined Sun Microsystems, where he worked as a software developer. At Sun, he helped to develop several key products, including the NeWS windowing system and the Gosling Emacs text editor. However, it was his work on the Java programming language that would make him a household name in the technology industry. Gosling began working on Java in the early 1990s, with the goal of creating a programming language that could be used to develop software that would run on any device, regardless of its hardware or operating system. He envisioned a world in which developers could write a program once and then run it on any device, without having to worry about compatibility issues. Java was released in 1995,