Date of Birth: January 31, 1956
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Biography
Guido van Rossum is a renowned Dutch computer scientist and the creator of the Python programming language, one of the most popular and widely used programming languages today. Born in The Hague, Netherlands, he has made significant contributions to software development and open-source communities throughout his career. Guido started developing Python in the late 1980s and released its first version in 1991. His vision was to create a language that emphasized code readability and simplicity, which has attracted a vast community of developers around the world. After graduating with a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Amsterdam in 1982, Guido worked for various research institutes and companies, including the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States, and Google. During his tenure at Google, he continued to work on Python, further enhancing its features and expanding its community. In 2018, van Rossum announced his retirement from the role of “Benevolent Dictator For Life” (BDFL) of Python, passing the baton to the Python community for future governance. However, his passion for programming did not wane, and in 2020, he joined Microsoft as a Distinguished Engineer to continue contributing to the development of Python and other projects.
5 Interesting Facts about Guido van Rossum
1. Guido van Rossum named Python after Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a British sketch comedy series.
2. He holds the honorary title of “Benevolent Dictator For Life” (BDFL) within the Python community.
3. Van Rossum was awarded the NLUUG Award in 2003 for his contributions to open-source software.
4. He has worked at prominent tech companies such as Google and Dropbox, where he continued to develop Python.
5. In 2019, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Computer History Museum for his work on Python.
5 Most Interesting Quotes from Guido van Rossum
1. “Python has been an amazing journey for me, and I am grateful to everyone who has contributed.”
2. “I think of Python as an experiment in how much freedom programmers need.”
3. “There’s a lot of information out there, and it’s really easy to get lost in it.”
4. “The goal of the language is to be as simple as possible but no simpler.”
5. “Readability counts.”
Highest Net Worth Achieved
The highest net worth achieved by Guido van Rossum is estimated to be around $10 million.
Children
Guido van Rossum has one son, Orlijn Michiel van Rossum, born in 2001.
Relevant Links
1. [Guido van Rossum – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_van_Rossum
2. [Python Programming Language – Official Website](https://www.python.org
3. [Guido van Rossum’s LinkedIn Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gvanrossum/
4. [Guido van Rossum on GitHub](https://github.com/gvanrossum
5. [Guido van Rossum’s Blog – Artima](https://www.artima.com/weblogs/index.jsp?blogger=guido
