Linus Benedict Torvalds[a] (born 28 December 1969) is a Finnish and American software engineer who is the creator and lead developer of theLinux kernel. He also created thedistributed version control systemGit.
Torvalds was born inHelsinki, Finland, on 28 December 1969, the son of journalists Anna andNils Torvalds,[7] the grandson of statisticianLeo Törnqvist and of poetOle Torvalds, and the great-grandson of journalist and soldierToivo Karanko. His parents were campus radicals at theUniversity of Helsinki in the 1960s. His family belongs to theSwedish-speaking minority in Finland. He was named afterLinus Pauling, the Nobel Prize–winning American chemist, although in the bookRebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, he is quoted as saying, "I think I was named equally forLinus thePeanuts cartoon character", noting that this made him "half Nobel Prize–winning chemist and half blanket-carrying cartoon character".[8]
His interest in computers began with aVIC-20[9] at the age of 11 in 1981. He started programming for it inBASIC, then later by directly accessing the6502 CPU inmachine code (he did not utilizeassembly language).[10] He then purchased aSinclair QL, which he modified extensively, especially its operating system. "Because it was so hard to get software for it in Finland", he wrote his own assembler and "(in addition toPac-Man graphics libraries)"[11] for the QL, and a few games.[12][13] He wrote aPac-Man clone,Cool Man.
On 5 January 1991[19] he purchased anIntel 80386-basedIBM PC clone[20] before receiving a copy ofMINIX, which in turn enabled him to begin work on Linux.
The first Linux prototypes were publicly released on the Internet in late 1991 from anFTP server at his university.[8][21] Version 1.0 was released on 14 March 1994.[22]
Torvalds first encountered theGNU Project in the autumn of 1991 when another Swedish-speaking computer science student, Lars Wirzenius, took him to the University of Technology to listen to free-software guruRichard Stallman's speech. Because of the talk and pressure from other contributors, Torvalds would ultimately switch his original license (which forbade commercial use) to Stallman'sGNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2) for hisLinux kernel.[23]
After a visit toTransmeta in late 1996,[24] Torvalds accepted a position at the company in California, where he worked from February 1997 to June 2003. He then moved to theOpen Source Development Labs, which has since merged with theFree Standards Group to become theLinux Foundation, under whose auspices he continues to work. In June 2004, Torvalds and his family moved toDunthorpe, Oregon[25] to be closer to the OSDL's headquarters inBeaverton.
From 1997 to 1999, he was involved in86open, helping select the standard binary format forLinux andUnix. In 1999, he was named by theMIT Technology ReviewTR100 as one of the world's top 100 innovators under age 35.[26]
In 1999,Red Hat andVA Linux, both leading developers of Linux-based software, presented Torvalds withstock options in gratitude for his creation.[27] That year both companieswent public and Torvalds's share value briefly shot up to about US$20 million.[28][29]
His personal mascot is a penguin nicknamedTux,[30] which has been widely adopted by the Linux community as the Linux kernel's mascot.[31]
Although Torvalds believes "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 includesproprietary software.[32] He was criticized for his use and alleged advocacy of the proprietaryBitKeeper software for version control in the Linux kernel. He subsequently wrote a free-software replacement for it calledGit.
In 2008, Torvalds stated that he used theFedora Linux distribution because it had fairly good support for thePowerPC processor architecture, which he favored at the time.[33] He confirmed this in a 2012 interview.[34] Torvalds abandoned GNOME for a while after the release ofGNOME 3.0, saying, "The developers have apparently decided that it's 'too complicated' to actually do real work on your desktop, and have decided to make it really annoying to do". He then switched toXfce.[35] In 2013, Torvalds resumed using GNOME, noting that "they have extensions now that are still much too hard to find; but with extensions you can make your desktop look almost as good as it used to look two years ago".[36][37]
TheLinux Foundation currently sponsors Torvalds so he can work full-time on improving Linux.[38]
In 2012, while giving a talk atAalto University, Torvalds said "fuck you" and raised his middle finger after criticizing the companyNvidia, which specializes in GPU technology. He said Nvidia was, at the time, the single worst company he has dealt with in the development of the kernel. In the talk, he also discussed other elements of computing.[39][40]
Torvalds is known for vocally disagreeing with other developers on theLinux kernel mailing list.[41] Calling himself a "really unpleasant person", he explained, "I'd like to be a nice person and curse less and encourage people to grow rather than telling them they are idiots. I'm sorry—I tried, it's just not in me."[42][43] His attitude, which he considers necessary for making his points clear, has drawn criticism fromIntel programmerSage Sharp andsystemd developerLennart Poettering, among others.[44][failed verification][45]
On Sunday, 16 September 2018, the Linux kernelCode of Conflict was suddenly replaced by a newCode of Conduct based on theContributor Covenant. Shortly thereafter, in the release notes for Linux 4.19-rc4, Torvalds apologized for his behavior, calling his personal attacks of the past "unprofessional and uncalled for" and announced a period of "time off" to "get some assistance on how to understand people's emotions and respond appropriately". It soon transpired that these events followedThe New Yorker approaching Torvalds with a series of questions critical of his conduct.[46][47][48] Following the release of Linux 4.19 on 22 October 2018, Torvalds returned to maintaining the kernel.[49]
In 2024, amidst theRussian invasion of Ukraine, some developers were excluded from the list of Linux kernel maintainers, seemingly over being Russian or using Russian email addresses. Torvalds commented: "I'm Finnish. Did you think I'd be supporting Russian aggression?". Some developers, along with a part of Linux users, noted the lack of public clarity about that move. Later Torvalds claimed that he acted according to government compliance requirements and due to legal issues around Russia.[50][51]
Initially, Torvalds wanted to call the kernel he developedFreax (a combination of "free", "freak", and the letter X to indicate that it was a Unix-like system), but his friendAri Lemmke, who administered theFTPserver where the kernel was first hosted, named Torvalds' directorylinux.[52]
As of 2006, approximately 2% of the Linux kernel was written by Torvalds.[29] Despite the thousands who have contributed to it, his percentage is still one of the largest. However, he said in 2012 that his own personal contribution is now mostly merging code written by others, with little programming.[53] He retains the highest authority to decide which new code is incorporated into the standard Linux kernel.[54]
Sparse is astatic analysis tool that flags constructs that are likely to be of interest tokernel developers, such as the mixing of pointers to user and kerneladdress spaces.
Linus Torvalds is married to Tove Torvalds (née Monni), a six-time Finnish nationalkarate champion, whom he met in late 1993. He was running introductory computer laboratory exercises for students and instructed the course attendees to send him an e-mail as a test, to which Tove responded with an e-mail asking for a date.[8] They were later married and have three daughters, two of whom were born in the United States.[59] The Linux kernel'sreboot system call accepts their dates of birth (written in hexadecimal) asmagic values.[60][61]
Torvalds has described himself as "completelya-religious—atheist", adding, "I find that people seem to think religion brings morals and appreciation of nature. I actually think it detracts from both. It gives people the excuse to say, 'Oh, nature was just created,' and so the act of creation is seen to be something miraculous. I appreciate the fact that, 'Wow, it's incredible that something like this could have happened in the first place.'" He later added that while in Europe religion is mostly a personal issue, in the United States it has become very politicized. When discussing the issue ofchurch and state separation, he said, "Yeah, it's kind of ironic that in many European countries, there is actually a kind of legal binding between the state and thestate religion."[62] In "Linus the Liberator", a story about the MarchLinuxWorld Conference, Torvalds says: "There are like two golden rules in life. One is 'Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.' For some reason, people associate this with Christianity. I'm not a Christian. I'm agnostic. The other rule is 'Be proud of what you do.'"[63]
In 2010, Torvalds became a United States citizen andregistered to vote in the United States. As of that year, he was unaffiliated with any U.S. political party, saying, "I have way too much personal pride to want to be associated with any of them, quite frankly."[59]
Linus developed an interest inscuba diving in the early 2000s and has achieved numerous certifications, leading him to create the Subsurface project.[65]
IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award is conferred by theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for outstanding contributions to consumer electronics technology has been named in honor of the co-founder and honorary chairman of Sony Corporation, Masaru Ibuka. 2018 Ibuka award was conferred to Linus Torvalds "For his leadership of the development and proliferation of Linux."[6]
2014
IEEE Computer Pioneer Award
On 23 April 2014, theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers named Torvalds as the 2014 recipient of the IEEE Computer Society'sComputer Pioneer Award. The Computer Pioneer Award was established in 1981 by the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors to recognize and honor the vision of those whose efforts resulted in the creation and continued vitality of the computer industry. The award is presented to outstanding individuals whose main contribution to the concepts and development of the computer field was made at least 15 years earlier.[67]
2012
Internet Hall of Fame
On 23 April 2012, atInternet Society's Global INET conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Torvalds was one of the inaugural inductees into theInternet Hall of Fame, one of ten in the Innovators category and thirty-three overall inductees.[68]
2012
Millennium Technology Prize
On 20 April 2012, Torvalds was declared one of two winners of that year'sMillennium Technology Prize,[69] along withShinya Yamanaka.[70] The honor is widely described as technology's equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
2010
C&C Prize
He was awarded theC&C Prize by theNEC Corporation in 2010 for "contributions to the advancement of the information technology industry, education, research, and the improvement of our lives".[71]
2008
Hall of Fellows
In 2008, he was inducted into the Hall of Fellows of theComputer History Museum inMountain View, California, "for the creation of the Linux kernel and the management of open source development of the widely used Linux operating system."[72][73]
In 2003, the naming of the asteroid moonLinus was motivated in part by the fact that the discoverer was an enthusiastic Linux user. Although the naming proposal referred to the mythologicalLinus, son of the museCalliope and the inventor of melody and rhythm, the name was also meant to honor Linus Torvalds, andLinus van Pelt, a character in thePeanuts comic strip.[75]
In 1997, Torvalds received his master's degree (Laudatur Grade) from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki. Two years later he received honorary doctor status atStockholm University, and in 2000, he received the same honor from hisalma mater.[78]
University of Helsinki has named an auditorium after Torvalds andhis computer is on display at the Department of Computer Science.
In 2004, he was named one of the most influential people in the world byTime magazine.[81]
In 2006, the magazine's Europe edition named him one of the revolutionary heroes of the past 60 years.[27]
InfoWorld presented him with the 2000 Award for Industry Achievement.[82] In 2005, Torvalds appeared as one of "the best managers" in a survey byBusinessWeek.[83] In 2006,Business 2.0 magazine named him one of "10 people who don't matter" because the growth of Linux has shrunk Torvalds's individual impact.[84]
In summer 2004, viewers ofYLE (the Finnish Broadcasting Company) placed Torvalds 16th in the network's100 Greatest Finns. In 2010, as part of a series calledThe Britannica Guide to the World's Most Influential People, Torvalds was listed amongThe 100 Most Influential Inventors of All Time (ISBN9781615300037).[85]
On 11 October 2017, the Linux companySUSE made a song titled "Linus Said" about the origin of the Linux kernel.[86]
^Rogoway, Mike (7 June 2005)."Linus Torvalds, Incognito Inventor".The Oregonian.Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved8 July 2014.A sort of anti-celebrity, he is plainly ambivalent about fame and content to stay nestled at home in a tony cluster of million-dollar houses atop the densely forested hills of the Dunthorpe neighborhood.
^Linux trademark, 15 August 1994, archived fromthe original on 9 December 2002, retrieved6 January 2016,IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer operating system software to facilitate computer use and operation. FIRST USE: 19940802. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19940802
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