The character arc of Linus Torvalds
Born 28 December 1969 in Helsinki, Finland, and later a citizen of the United States. Between then and now sit a shy student, a 386 machine, a free operating system he called just a hobby, a first release he barely announced, a kernel that came to run most of the world's servers, phones and supercomputers, and a second invention, Git, written in a matter of days. He kept it open and free rather than cashing out. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Linus Torvalds?
He called it just a hobby, and it ran the world.
The story people tell is that Linux was planned to change computing. What actually happened is that a shy computer science student in Helsinki, tinkering alone on a new 386 over the winter of 1991, wrote a small free operating system and told a newsgroup it was "just a hobby, won't be big and professional". He uploaded the first version to a server that September and made no real announcement. Strangers found it, and started sending fixes.
He did the one thing that let it grow past him: he gave it away and let anyone change it, later placing it under a free licence. Within a few years thousands of volunteers were building it together, and Linux spread from hobby machines to the servers, phones and supercomputers that carry most of the world today. He could have sold it many times over. He did not.
In 2005, when the system the kernel used to keep its changes withdrew, he wrote a replacement himself in days. That became Git, now the way most of the world's code is kept, a second invention almost as large as the first. He has been open about his failings too, apologising in 2018 for years of harsh words and stepping back to work on them. His line is worth reading because the thing that ran the world began as one quiet person calling it a hobby.
The moments
Linus Torvalds's timeline.
The 1980s
A borrowed home computer
Milestone, and it changed his direction. At about eleven he began writing small programs on his grandfather's Commodore VIC-20, alone in Helsinki.
Enrolled to study computing
Everyday. He started a computer science degree at the University of Helsinki, quiet and rarely noticed.
The 1990s
A shy student, a hobby
Setback, and it changed his direction. Painfully shy, he spent the winter indoors with a new 386 machine, tinkering for no one but himself.
Keep it, or give it away
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: share the source with everyone, taken, or keep it a private project. He released it openly and soon put it under a free licence. It grew to run most of the world's servers, phones and supercomputers, and he never cashed out.
Just a hobby
Milestone, and it changed his direction. He told a small newsgroup he was making a free operating system, calling it "just a hobby, won't be big and professional".
The first release, quietly
Milestone, and it changed everything. He uploaded version 0.01 to a server and told a few interested people, making no announcement at all.
Linux reaches version one
Milestone. Two and a half years on, thousands of volunteers had joined, and the first full version shipped.
A move across the world
Milestone, and it changed his direction. He left Helsinki for California to work at Transmeta, keeping Linux going in his own time.
The 2000s
His version tool fell through
Setback, and it changed his direction. The paid system the kernel relied on withdrew its free access, leaving the whole project with no way to keep its changes.
Adopt one, or write one
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: write a new one himself, taken, or move to an existing system. The thing he built in days became Git, now the way most of the world's code is kept.
He built Git in days
Milestone. Rather than wait, he wrote a new open replacement himself, and it was keeping its own history within days.
The 2010s
Naturalised as an American
Milestone. The boy from Helsinki, long settled near Portland with his family, became a citizen of the United States.
A million euro prize
Milestone. Finland gave him its Millennium Technology Prize, sharing the honour with a stem cell scientist.
He apologised and stepped back
Setback, and it changed his direction. Owning years of harsh words to fellow developers, he stepped away for a time to work on how he treated people.
The 2020s
Still shipping the kernel
Milestone. Thirty five years on, he still gathered and released each new kernel that runs most of the world's machines.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it set moving is already everywhere: the machines that run on his free code, and every person who made something quietly, gave it away, and watched it outgrow them.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
His is three and a half decades in and still shipping. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about a minute.
Sources
- Linus Torvalds and David Diamond, Just for Fun, 2001.
- His comp.os.minix announcement, 25 August 1991.
- The Linux 0.01 release, 17 September 1991.
- The Linux 1.0 release, 14 March 1994.
- The first Git commit, 3 April 2005.
- The Millennium Technology Prize, 2012.
- Britannica and Wikipedia biographies of Linus Torvalds.