Linus Torvalds

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Linus Torvalds - Finnish-American software engineer

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03.04.25

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Software Contributions

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The Development of Linux

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Birth in Helsinki, Finland

December 28, 1969

Linus Benedict Torvalds was born in Helsinki, Finland, to Nils Torvalds and Anna Torvalds. He was named after Linus Pauling, the American chemist and Nobel laureate, reflecting his family's academic background and interest in science.

Early Exposure to Computing

Early 1980s

Linus's interest in computers began early, inspired by his maternal grandfather, Leo Törnqvist, a professor of statistics, who introduced him to programming on a Commodore VIC-20. He immersed himself in programming, mastering BASIC and later assembly language, laying the groundwork for his future endeavors.

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Brief

Known For

Creator and lead developer of the Linux kernel, and the initial developer of the version control system Git.

Daily Chronicle

22 October, 2018

Linus Torvalds returned to maintaining the Linux kernel after taking time off to work on his behavior and communication skills. This marked a resumption of his leadership role in the Linux development community following a period of reflection and self-improvement.

16 September, 2018

The Linux kernel Code of Conflict was replaced by a new Code of Conduct based on the Contributor Covenant. Shortly after, Linus Torvalds announced a period of time off to "get some assistance on how to understand people's emotions and respond appropriately".

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Linus Torvalds

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