Steve Wozniak

Steve Wozniak
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Name	Steve Wozniak
Caption	Wozniak in 2005
Birth name	Stephen Gary Wozniak
Birth date	11 August 1950
Birth place	San Jose, California, U.S.
Occupation	Electrical engineer, Computer programmer, Philanthropist
Known for	Co-founding Apple Inc., designing the Apple I and Apple II
Education	University of California, Berkeley (no degree)
Spouse	Alice Robertson (m. 1976; div. 1980), Candice Clark (m. 1981; div. 1987), Suzanne Mulkern (m. 1990; div. 2004), Janet Hill (m. 2008)

Steve Wozniak. Stephen Gary Wozniak, an American electrical engineer and computer programmer, is renowned as the co-founder of Apple Inc. and the principal designer of the pioneering Apple I and Apple II computers. His engineering genius and partnership with Steve Jobs were instrumental in launching the personal computer revolution in the late 1970s. Often referred to affectionately as "The Woz", he is celebrated for his technical brilliance, playful spirit, and significant philanthropic contributions to education.

Early life and education

Stephen Gary Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950, in San Jose, California, to Margaret and Jerry Wozniak, an engineer at Lockheed Corporation. His fascination with electronics began in childhood, influenced by his father and his own early experiments, including building a crystal radio and a ham radio station. He attended Homestead High School in Cupertino, where he first met Steve Jobs through a mutual friend. A prodigious talent, Wozniak won top prizes at the Bay Area Science Fair for his innovative projects. He briefly attended the University of Colorado Boulder before transferring to De Anza College and then enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley in 1971. However, he left Berkeley in his third year to pursue work in the burgeoning Silicon Valley technology sector, never completing his formal degree.

Career at Apple

Wozniak's career at Apple Inc. began with his design of the Apple I in 1976, a machine he built primarily for the Homebrew Computer Club. With encouragement from Steve Jobs, the pair founded Apple Computer Company on April 1, 1976, and sold the Apple I as a fully assembled circuit board. His masterpiece, the Apple II, introduced in 1977, featured color graphics, a built-in BASIC programming language, and an innovative floppy disk drive system he designed. The Apple II became one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputers, propelling Apple Inc. to the forefront of the personal computer industry. Wozniak was the lead engineer on projects like the Apple III and early work on the Macintosh, but his involvement lessened after a private plane crash in 1981. He officially left his full-time engineering role at Apple Inc. in 1985, though he remains a shareholder and an honorary employee, receiving a symbolic salary.

Post-Apple ventures and philanthropy

Following his active tenure at Apple Inc., Wozniak engaged in various entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors. He returned to UC Berkeley under the pseudonym "Rocky Raccoon Clark" to finally earn his undergraduate degree in 1986. He founded CL 9, a company that developed one of the first programmable universal remote controls. He also taught computer classes to schoolchildren and donated generously to the Los Gatos School District. In 2001, he co-founded Wheels of Zeus (WoZ), a wireless technology company, and later became chief scientist at Fusion-io, a data storage company. A longtime advocate for education, he has funded technology programs and donated to institutions like the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. He also served as a judge for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards and has been involved with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Awards and recognition

Wozniak has received widespread acclaim for his foundational contributions to computing. In 1979, he was awarded the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award. He received the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan in 1985. He was inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2000. For his work on the Apple II, he was honored with the prestigious Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment in 2001. Other notable honors include the ACM Fellow award and the IEEE Computer Society's Computer Pioneer Award. In 2014, he was awarded the Hoover Medal for his public service. His legacy is cemented in institutions like the Computer History Museum, where he is a featured figure.

Personal life

Wozniak has been married four times, to Alice Robertson, Candice Clark, Suzanne Mulkern, and current spouse Janet Hill. He has three children. The 1981 plane crash he survived led to a temporary bout of anterograde amnesia. A well-known personality, he has made cameo appearances on television shows like The Big Bang Theory and competed on Dancing with the Stars. He is an avid philatelist and has a passion for Segway Polo, even founding a team called the Silicon Valley Aftershocks. He currently resides in Los Gatos, California, and remains a prominent, approachable figure in the technology community, frequently speaking at events and advocating for creative engineering and ethical technology development.

Category:American computer engineers Category:Apple Inc. people Category:American technology entrepreneurs Category:1950 births Category:Living people