Wozniak

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

Wozniak. Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer, inventor, and philanthropist who co-founded Apple Inc. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne in 1976. He is singularly credited with designing the company's first products, the Apple I and Apple II, machines that were pivotal in launching the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Revered as a folk hero in Silicon Valley, his engineering genius and playful approach to technology have left an indelible mark on the technology industry.

Early life and education

Born in San Jose, California, Wozniak was the son of an engineer for the Lockheed Corporation. His early fascination with electronics was evident in projects like a crystal radio set and his winning entry in a science fair for a transistor-based calculator. He attended Homestead High School in Cupertino, California, where he met future collaborator Steve Jobs. Briefly attending the University of Colorado Boulder, he later enrolled at De Anza College before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. He left Berkeley in 1975 without a degree to pursue work in technology, though the university later awarded him an honorary Bachelor of Science.

Career at Apple

While working at Hewlett-Packard, Wozniak designed the Apple I computer, which was first demonstrated at the Homebrew Computer Club. With encouragement from Steve Jobs, they formed Apple Computer Company on April 1, 1976. Wozniak's masterwork was the Apple II, introduced in 1977, which featured color graphics, an open architecture, and the Visicalc spreadsheet program, making it the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer. His designs for the Disk II floppy drive and the Integer BASIC programming language were also critical to the platform's success. He remained a key engineer at Apple until largely departing in 1985 following the launch of the Macintosh.

Post-Apple ventures

After leaving full-time employment at Apple Inc., Wozniak founded CL 9, a company that developed one of the first programmable universal remote controls. He also taught computer classes to fifth graders and served as a chief scientist for the technology holding company Mobility Electronics. In 2001, he co-founded Wheels of Zeus (WoZ), a venture aimed at creating wireless GPS technology. Later, he became a chief scientist at Primary Data and has been involved with various technology startups and initiatives. He has also made numerous appearances on television shows like Dancing with the Stars and The Big Bang Theory.

Philanthropy and activism

Wozniak has been a significant philanthropic force, particularly in education. He provided all the funding for the technology program for the Los Gatos School District and has donated extensively to the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose. He founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation and was a founding sponsor of the Tech Museum of Innovation. His activism extends to supporting electronic voting reform and has been an advocate for Net Neutrality. In 2014, he joined the board of directors for Planetary Resources, a company focused on asteroid mining.

Awards and recognition

Wozniak's contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. He received the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and was inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2000. The Computer History Museum honored him as a Global Fellow, and he was awarded the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment. He has also received the Hoover Medal and the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award. Institutions like Kettering University and North Carolina State University have awarded him honorary doctorates.

Personal life

Wozniak has been married four times, to Alice Robertson, Candice Clark, Suzanne Mulkern, and current spouse Janet Hill. He has three children. A well-known prankster, he famously engineered a dial-a-joke system and once used a TV remote to disrupt a presentation. He survived a serious plane crash in 1981 while piloting his own aircraft, suffering temporary anterograde amnesia. An avid philatelist and Segway Polo player, he currently resides in Los Gatos, California, and remains a prominent, beloved figure in the tech community, often speaking at events like the World Science Festival.

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