Steve Jobs, the chairman and former CEO of Apple, died of pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011. He was only 56 years old. He was survived by his wife and children. This man became famous all over the world for making personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and even digital animation technology.
There are too many things to remember about him. Mostly, people would point to the gadgets they have on their hands when asked about anything they know about Jobs. But this man had a life story so interesting that it also deserves to be known by other people.
As a child, Jobs was given up for adoption by his parents. His adoptive family raised him in California. As a teenager, he got into all sorts of trouble. He used illegal drugs and even got into phone hacking. But there was something about his troubled teenage life that prompted him to do better in the succeeding years and desire for success.
In 1976, he worked on developing a computer inside a garage. He did it with his longtime pal Steve Wozniak, a computer genius. They worked together to develop the first fully-built personal computer called the Apple I. The two Steves with Mike Markkla and other people were able to develop and market “one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers.” These are the Apple II series.
Jobs was also one of the first to see the great potential in Xerox PARC’s mouse-driven graphical user interface. This sparked the idea of creating the Apple Lisa. This computer was named after Jobs’ daughter, whom he denied at first for some time. A year later, the Macintosh came out.
There were some problems and issues in the Apple company. When Jobs lost in a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985 and was forced to leave Apple, he founded NeXT. This was a computer platform that specialized in business markets and higher education.
During this time, he also started a movie studio that did computer animation. He acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd in 1986. This was spun off later on as the Pixar Animation Studios. In 1995, he produced Toy Story, the first fully computer animated film. He remained CEO and majority shareholder of Pixar until it was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2006. This made Jobs Walt Disney’s largest individual shareholder.
When Apply purchased NeXT, Jobs was brought back to Apple. He served as its interim CEO from 1997 to 2011. He resigned as CEO in April 2011 and was elected as chairman of Apple’s board of directors. On October 5, 2011 at around 3 in the afternoon, he died at his home in California. The immediate cause of death was respiratory arrest with metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor.
After the news about his death broke out, thousands of people especially his fans mourned his passing. Everywhere in California, you’ll see candles, flowers, and other items placed in respect for this creative genius. Parks, outdoor fountains, and other places are filled with candles and flowers.