The character arc of Mark Zuckerberg
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 14 May 1984 in White Plains, New York. Between then and now sit Phillips Exeter Academy in 2002, Harvard the same year, code begun in January 2004, Thefacebook launched on 4 February 2004 with four roommates, a first office in mid-2004, a technology list in 2007, the youngest self-made billionaire in 2008, advice sought in April 2009, five hundred million people on 21 July 2010, a film in 2010, and the company taken public in May 2012. 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 Mark Zuckerberg?
Three weeks of code.
He was born in White Plains, New York in 1984. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2002, which has been cited as an earlier inspiration for what he later built, and by the time he began classes at Harvard that year he had already, in the words of one profile, a reputation as a programming prodigy.
In January 2004 he began writing code for a new website. On 4 February 2004 he launched Thefacebook, originally at thefacebook.com, in partnership with his roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. That is three weeks between starting and launching. They got their first office in mid-2004. A legal claim over the founding was settled for 1.2 million shares in the company and twenty million dollars in cash.
He was added to a list of the world's top thirty five innovators under thirty five in 2007, and in 2008, at twenty three, became the world's youngest self-made billionaire. In April 2009 he sought the advice of a former Netscape finance chief on financing strategies. On 21 July 2010 he reported that the service had reached five hundred million people, and that year a film about his early career, his legal troubles and his initial success was released, and a magazine named him first on its list of the hundred most influential people of the information age. He took the company public in May 2012 holding majority shares.
The moments
Mark Zuckerberg's timeline.
The 2000s
Exeter, then Harvard
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A reputation as a prodigy before he had started university.
He began the code
Milestone, and it changed everything. A blank file, in January.
Thefacebook launched
Milestone, and it changed everything. Three weeks from the first line of code to a live site.
Finish the degree
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: leave and build it, taken, or stay and graduate. The service reached five hundred million people on 21 July 2010 and the company went public in May 2012.
A first office
Milestone, and it changed his direction. An office, five months after the launch.
Thirty five under thirty five
Milestone. On a list of innovators, at twenty three.
The youngest billionaire
Milestone, and it changed everything. Twenty three years old.
He asked for advice
Milestone, and it changed his direction. He went and asked somebody who had done it before.
The 2010s
Five hundred million
Milestone, and it changed everything. Five hundred million people, six years after the launch.
A film about him
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A film about the founding, made while he was twenty six.
The founding settled
Setback, and it changed everything. A settlement over who started it, paid in shares and cash.
He took it public
Milestone, and it changed everything. Public, and he still held the majority.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving took three weeks to write: he began the code in January 2004 and launched it on the fourth of February, and everything else on this line comes after that.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His went from a blank file to a launched website in three weeks. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Mark Zuckerberg: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
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Where does this timeline of Mark Zuckerberg's life come from?
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Sources
- Mark Zuckerberg, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- The launch of Thefacebook on 4 February 2004 and the initial public offering of May 2012.
- MIT Technology Review TR35, 2007.