Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, full name Steven Paul Jobs, birth name Abdul Latif Jandali, is an American entrepreneur, inventor and industrial designer who pioneered the information technology era.

Jobs grew up in foster care, took a job at Atari Corporation as a video game designer in early 1974, then traveled to India, comprehending Zen Buddhism. At the same time, Jobs met former classmate Steven Wozniak (b. 1950), and together they developed one of the first personal computers and in 1976 founded Apple, which was the beginning of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT, a company that developed a computer platform for universities and businesses. By 1997, Jobs had regained control of Apple by leading the corporation. Under his leadership, the company was saved from bankruptcy and began turning a profit a year later. Over the next decade, Jobs oversaw the development of the iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, as well as the development of the Apple Store, iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore. In 2011, Apple was recognized as the world's most valuable publicly traded company.

Steve Jobs passed away after a long illness at the age of 56. In July 2022, Jobs was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor, for his invaluable contributions to the music, film, and computer industries.