Richard Stallman

Date of Birth: March 16, 1953

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Biography

Richard Matthew Stallman, often known by his initials RMS, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He was born in New York City and is best known for launching the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system, and for founding the Free Software Foundation. Stallman began his career as a programmer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where he was known for his technical contributions to the Emacs text editor, the GCC (GNU Compiler Collection), and the GDB (GNU Debugger). Stallman’s advocacy for free software has had a profound impact on the software industry, promoting the idea that software should be freely accessible and modifiable by anyone. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to computer science and his efforts in promoting software freedom.

5 Interesting Facts about Richard Stallman

1. Richard Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 1985.

2. He coined the term “copyleft,” a play on the word copyright, to describe the practice of using copyright law to ensure a program remains free.

3. Stallman was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2013.

4. He is also known for his work on the GNU General Public License (GPL), a widely used free software license.

5. Stallman resigned from his position at MIT and the FSF in 2019 following controversial remarks, but he remains a significant figure in the free software movement.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Richard Stallman

1. “Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ‘free’ as in ‘free speech,’ not as in ‘free beer.’”

2. “I could either give up on the goal of sharing software and become a proprietary software developer, or I could use my technical skills for the sake of freedom.”

3. “The only way to make sure that you have software that is reliable, that you can fix when it breaks, is if you have the source code and the freedom to make changes.”

4. “Control over the use of one’s ideas really constitutes control over other people’s lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more difficult.”

5. “To make freedom available to everyone, we have to stop treating it as a luxury for the few.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

As of the latest available information, Richard Stallman’s net worth is not publicly disclosed. His primary focus has been on advocacy and programming rather than personal financial gain.