Linus Torvalds

In 1991 Linus Torvalds was a college student at the University of Helsinki. Starting with the basics of a Unix system, he wrote the kernel -- original code -- for a new system for his x86 PC that was later dubbed Linux (pronounced linn-ucks). Torvalds revealed the original source code for free -- making him a folk hero among programmers -- and users around the world began making additions and now continue to tweak it. Linux is considered the leader in the practice of allowing users to re-program their own operating systems.