Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs summary

Steve Jobs

Q: Why is Steve Jobs significant?

Steve Jobs was a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era. With Steve Wozniak , Jobs founded Apple Inc. in 1976 and transformed the company into a world leader in telecommunications. Widely considered a visionary and a genius, he oversaw the launch of such revolutionary products as the iPod and the iPhone.

Q: What was Steve Jobs’s early life like?

Steve Jobs was born in 1955 and raised by adoptive parents in Cupertino, California. Though he was interested in engineering, his passions as a youth varied. After dropping out of Reed College , Jobs worked as a video game designer at Atari and later went to India to experience Buddhism . In 1976 he helped launch Apple .

Q: How did Steve Jobs die?

In 2003 Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer , and the following year he underwent a major reconstructive surgery known as the Whipple operation. In 2009 Jobs received a liver transplant. In August 2011 he resigned as CEO of Apple , and two months later, at age 56, he died.

American businessman

Also known as: Steven Paul Jobs

Written by Steven Levy

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 • Article History

Steve Jobs

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Category: History & Society

In full:: Steven Paul Jobs

Born:: February 24, 1955, San Francisco, California, U.S.

Died:: October 5, 2011, Palo Alto, California (aged 56)

Founder:: Apple Inc.; NeXT Inc.

Awards And Honors:: Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022)

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Why is Steve Jobs significant?

What was Steve Jobs’s early life like?

How did Steve Jobs die?

Steve Jobs (born February 24, 1955, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died October 5, 2011, Palo Alto, California) cofounder of Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.), and a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era. Jobs was raised by adoptive parents in Cupertino, California, located in what is now known as Silicon Valley. Though he was interested in engineering, his passions of youth varied. He dropped out of Reed College, in Portland, Oregon, took a job at Atari Corporation as a video game designer in early 1974, and saved enough money for a pilgrimage to India to experience Buddhism. Back in Silicon ...(100 of 1788 words)

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