Tech Heroes #8: Richard Stallman
When, as a student, I started to research the Hacker culture I found two main figures that stand as beacon of enlightenment. One of them was Richard Stallman. This man not only is a well-known hacker but he also created the movement of Free Software. Stallman had great influence on me, not only as a hacker but also as a political thinker. I think it's time to learn more about Stallman.
Who is Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman (RMS) is a programmer, activist, and founder of the Free Software Movement. In 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system and later authored the GNU General Public License (GPL) to protect software freedoms. Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 1985, advocating for user rights to use, modify, and share software. Known for creating tools like GNU Emacs and GCC, he remains a pivotal figure in software ethics, though his outspoken views have sparked both admiration and controversy.
He was born on March 16, 1953, in New York City to a family of Jewish heritage. He had a difficult relationship with his parents and felt he lacked a proper home. Fascinated by computers from an early age, he read manuals for the IBM 7094 during a summer camp as a pre-teen. Between 1967 and 1969, Stallman attended a Saturday program for high school students at Columbia University and volunteered as a laboratory assistant in the biology department at Rockefeller University. Although he had a keen interest in mathematics and physics, his supervising professor at Rockefeller saw potential in him as a biologist.