Anders Hejlsberg
Born 1960 · Age 65
Danish software engineer; original author of Turbo Pascal, chief architect of Delphi, lead architect of C#, and core developer on TypeScript. Microsoft Technical Fellow and influential language designer.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark
Anders Hejlsberg was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Early exposure to computing in youth
Grew up north of Copenhagen and developed interest in computers from a young age (later described programming from early life and school access to computers).
Attended high school with early mainframe access
Attended a high school one of the first in Denmark to give students access to a computer (HP 2100 with ferrite-core memory) that sparked deep interest in low-level programming.
Started studies at Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Began studying Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
Founded/Joined small company / PolyData (approx.)
Became partner in a small Copenhagen company (PolyData / retail computer shop) that sold microcomputers and developed software — sources state he founded PolyData around age 19.
Wrote Pascal compiler for Nascom microcomputer
While at university (1980) he began writing programs for the Nascom microcomputer, including a Pascal compiler initially marketed as Blue Label Software Pascal for the Nascom-2.
PolyData operations and software sales
PolyData (the company he worked with/ran) sold software, ran a retail store and acted as distributor for Microsoft products in Denmark; remained connected to this venture through the 1980s.
Rewrote compiler for CP/M and DOS (Compas Pascal / PolyPascal)
Rewrote the Nascom Pascal compiler for CP/M and DOS, marketing it first as Compas Pascal and later as PolyPascal.
Turbo Pascal launched commercially
Turbo Pascal became commercially available under Borland and was notable for fast compilation, low price and an integrated development environment.
Turbo Pascal (origin) licensed to Borland / first Turbo Pascal release
PolyPascal/Blue Label product was licensed to Borland and integrated into an IDE to become Turbo Pascal; first Turbo Pascal released (sources cite November 1983).
Implemented hash table optimization (Turbo Pascal 2)
Implemented hash-table based name lookup (inspired by Wirth's Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs) which greatly sped up the compiler — cited as the Turbo Pascal v2 improvement.
Moved to California to join Borland as Chief Engineer
When PolyData came under financial stress he relocated to California and became Chief Engineer at Borland.
Continued development of Turbo Pascal at Borland
At Borland he continued development of Turbo Pascal through multiple versions and product enhancements.
Married Liz Hejlsberg (reported)
Marriage to Liz Hejlsberg is noted in public profiles (citation needed in some sources).
Delphi released (Borland)
Borland released Delphi (Object Pascal + a visual IDE) — Hejlsberg was chief architect of the team that produced Delphi, the Turbo Pascal successor (Delphi 1.0 shipping in 1995).
Left Borland and joined Microsoft
Hejlsberg left Borland in 1996 to join Microsoft (reported October 1996 departure).
Microsoft signing bonus and offer negotiation
Microsoft offered a signing bonus of US$500,000 plus stock options; after a counter-offer from Borland Microsoft doubled the bonus to US$1,000,000 (reported in contemporary coverage).
Worked on Visual J++ and Windows Foundation Classes
One of his early accomplishments at Microsoft was contributing to J++ (Visual J++) and the Windows Foundation Classes.
Shipped Visual J++ 6.0
Hejlsberg notes that the first Visual J++ release he worked on and shipped was Visual J++ 6.0 (circa 1997).
Became Microsoft Distinguished Engineer / Technical Fellow (tenure)
He rose to senior technical ranks at Microsoft (recognized in Microsoft materials as Distinguished Engineer and Technical Fellow; exact promotion dates internal but he holds the title publicly).
Named lead architect of the C# language team
Hejlsberg became the lead architect of the team developing C#; C# was introduced as part of Microsoft's .NET initiative around 2000.
Received Dr. Dobb's Excellence in Programming Award
Awarded the 2001 Dr. Dobb's Excellence in Programming Award for work on Turbo Pascal, Delphi, C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework.
C# 2.0 and generics introduced
C# 2.0 (with generics and other major language features) shipped on the .NET 2.0 timeframe (generics being a significant language milestone Hejlsberg led).
Published The C# Programming Language, 2nd Edition
Co-authored/edited The C# Programming Language, 2nd edition (Addison-Wesley Professional).
Technical Recognition Award: C# Team
Along with colleagues (Shon Katzenberger et al.) he received a Technical Recognition Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement for work on the C# language (Microsoft recognition, April 6, 2007).
Spoke at JAOO Aarhus (conference)
Presented 'The future of programming languages' and other talks at major developer conferences including JAOO Aarhus (2008).
Published The C# Programming Language, 3rd Edition
Released the 3rd edition of The C# Programming Language (Addison-Wesley).
Published The C# Programming Language, 4th Edition
Released the 4th edition of The C# Programming Language (October 2010).
Talk: The Future of C# and Visual Basic (PDC 2010)
Keynote/major talk about the future of C# and Visual Basic at PDC 2010 (Professional Developers Conference).
Announced TypeScript (Microsoft project)
Announced TypeScript, a typed superset of JavaScript, on the Microsoft blog (March 10, 2012) — Hejlsberg is lead architect and core developer.
Moved TypeScript to GitHub / Open-sourced community move
TypeScript project was moved to GitHub in 2014, allowing community participation and accelerating adoption (Hejlsberg cites 2014 move as turning point).
Spoke at Microsoft Build (Look Back on C#)
Participated in a major Microsoft Build session reflecting on C# ('Look Back' on C#, Build 2019).
Core developer and continuing architect role on TypeScript
Continues as core developer and lead architect for TypeScript while remaining influential in C# design and .NET ecosystem.
Appeared on The Aarthi & Sriram Show (podcast/interview)
Long-form interview discussing origin story, Turbo Pascal, Delphi, C#, .NET, TypeScript, language design and career (Feb 11, 2023).
Estimated current net worth (approx.)
Public sources do not publish a precise net worth. Based on Microsoft long-tenure, signing bonus, stock/options, book royalties, speaking and industry standing, an estimated range.
Featured in multiple retrospectives and profiles
Profiled by Microsoft, news sites and retrospectives about his 40+ year influence on programming languages and developer tools (ongoing recognition).
Key Achievement Ages
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