Richard Stallman
Born 1953 · Age 73
American programmer and activist; founder of the GNU Project and Free Software Foundation; author of the GNU General Public License; pioneer of the free software movement and the concept of copyleft.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in New York City
Richard Matthew Stallman was born to Daniel Stallman and Alice Lippman in Manhattan, New York.
Attended Columbia University Saturday program
Attended Columbia University Saturday program for high school students (1967–1969).
Early interest in computers; read IBM 7094 manuals
As a pre-teen/young teen he read manuals for the IBM 7094 at summer camp, sparking early interest in computing.
Summer job at IBM New York Scientific Center
Hired after high-school senior year to write a numerical analysis program in Fortran; later wrote a text editor in APL and a PL/I preprocessor on the IBM System/360.
Matriculated at Harvard University
Began undergraduate studies at Harvard; known for strong performance in Math 55 in first year.
Started at MIT AI Lab as programmer
Became a programmer at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory while a first-year at Harvard; became part of the hacker community and used the handle 'rms'.
Graduated Harvard magna cum laude (B.A. Physics)
Received a bachelor's degree in physics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University.
Enrolled in MIT graduate physics program (left after one year)
Enrolled as a graduate student in physics at MIT but left the program after about a year to focus on programming at the MIT AI Lab.
Research assistant under Gerry Sussman
Worked as a research assistant at MIT under Gerry Sussman beginning around 1975.
Created the first extensible Emacs (original Emacs)
Developed the Emacs family (the extensible, customizable editor) for the ITS operating environment; this early Emacs influenced later GNU Emacs.
Published paper on dependency-directed backtracking
Co-authored (with Gerald Sussman) an influential paper on an AI truth maintenance system (dependency-directed backtracking), introducing constraint recording.
Password decryption campaign at MIT LCS
When the Lab for Computer Science installed password controls, Stallman found a way to decode passwords and encouraged users to remove them to restore open access.
Refused source for Xerox 9700 laser printer; convinced of need for modifiable software
Denied access to source code for a new lab printer (Xerox 9700); inability to add features convinced Stallman of the importance of user freedom to modify software.
Cloned Symbolics code to prevent monopoly
Worked by himself (1982–end of 1983) to replicate the output of Symbolics programmers to prevent them gaining a monopoly over lab computers.
Announced the GNU Project
Announced the plan to develop a Unix-compatible free operating system called GNU on ARPANET mailing lists and Usenet, effectively launching the free software movement.
Launched the Free Software Movement
By announcing the GNU Project in Sept 1983, Stallman effectively launched the free software movement and set the philosophical foundation for software freedom.
Released GNU Emacs (GNU-specific Emacs)
Developed GNU Emacs as part of the GNU system (GNU Emacs built on the original Emacs work).
Declared to be GNU project's lead architect and organizer
Took lead architect/organizer role for the GNU Project and personally developed core GNU tools such as GNU Emacs, GCC, GDB, and GNU make.
Implemented 'copyleft' in GNU Emacs license
First implemented the concept of copyleft (using copyright law to preserve user freedoms) in the GNU Emacs license, later generalized in the GPL.
Began working full-time on GNU
Stallman states he began active work on the GNU Project on January 5, 1984; soon after he resigned MIT employment to work on GNU full-time.
Left MIT employment to work on GNU
Quit his salaried position at MIT to work full-time on the GNU Project; remained affiliated as an unpaid visiting scientist.
Published the GNU Manifesto
Published the GNU Manifesto outlining the goals and philosophy of GNU and the free software movement.
Founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
Established the Free Software Foundation (501(c)(3) nonprofit) to support GNU development and provide legal infrastructure for the free software movement.
Texinfo original version finished
Completed the original version of Texinfo (his replacement for Scribe) used for documentation; first version finished in 1986.
GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) early releases
Stallman personally developed the GNU Compiler Collection; GCC's initial releases occurred in this period (late 1980s).
Released program-independent GNU General Public License (GPL)
First program-independent GNU GPL released; Stallman is the main author of the GPL and popularized copyleft.
Co-founded League for Programming Freedom
Co-founded the League for Programming Freedom to oppose software patents and restrictive practices.
Popularized and formalized 'copyleft' via GPL
The GNU General Public License formalized copyleft; Stallman is the principal author of the GPL (most widely used free software license).
GNU Hurd kernel work begins (project milestone)
Members of the GNU project began using the Mach microkernel as part of GNU Hurd; the kernel project has remained immature for full POSIX compliance.
MacArthur Fellowship awarded
Received the MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant' (year listed on Stallman's site as 1990).
ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award
Received ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award (listed by multiple sources around 1990–1991) for pioneering work on Emacs.
Linus Torvalds releases Linux kernel (milestone for GNU/Linux)
Linux kernel released by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and combined with GNU components to form the common GNU/Linux operating system; sparked ongoing naming controversy.
GNU tools ported to Linux kernel; GNU/Linux becomes widely used
GNU programs were ported to Torvalds' Linux kernel, forming the widespread operating system commonly referred to as Linux (Stallman and FSF advocate 'GNU/Linux').
Visiting scientist affiliation at MIT (maintained)
Stallman remained affiliated with MIT as an unpaid 'visiting scientist' (sources indicate he held a visiting/scientist role and an MIT office for many years).
Emacs fork (XEmacs) controversy
Developers at Lucid Inc. forked their Emacs work into what became XEmacs after clashes with Stallman, illustrating tensions in the community.
Honorary doctorate (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden)
Received a Doctorate honoris causa from KTH (Royal Institute of Technology).
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award
Received the EFF Pioneer Award (shared recognition; Stallman site lists EFF Pioneer Award in 1998).
Proposed GNUPedia (precursor to Wikipedia involvement)
Called for the development of a free online encyclopedia by inviting public contributions; the GNUPedia idea merged into/retired in favour of Nupedia/Wikipedia.
Yuri Rubinsky Memorial Award
Awarded the Yuri Rubinsky Memorial Award (listed on Stallman's site for 1999).
Takeda Techno-Entrepreneurship Award (with others)
Received the Takeda Techno-Entrepreneurship Award for Social/Economic Well-Being (2001).
Honorary doctorate (University of Glasgow)
Awarded doctorate honoris causa from the University of Glasgow.
Authored popular essays and speeches on software freedom
Regularly delivered core talks such as 'The GNU Project and the Free Software Movement', 'The Dangers of Software Patents', and 'Copyright and Community'.
Elected to U.S. National Academy of Engineering
Elected a member of the United States National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for contributions to software.
Published 'Free Software, Free Society' (collection of essays)
A collection of Stallman's essays on free software and its philosophy was published (GNU Press / related releases in 2002).
Subject of semiautobiography 'Free as in Freedom'
Sam Williams published 'Free as in Freedom', a biography/semi-autobiography covering Stallman's life and the GNU project (2002).
Honorary doctorate and professorships (multiple)
Received honorary doctorate from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and an honorary professorship from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (Peru) in 2003 (per Stallman site).
Honorary doctorate (Universidad Nacional de Salta)
Received an honoris causa doctorate from Universidad Nacional de Salta (Argentina) and honorary professorships in Peru (listed 2004).
GPLv3 consultation and advocacy
During the 18-month public consultation (2006–2007) for drafting GPLv3, Stallman actively participated and explained proposed changes.
Advocated against DRM and software patents
Active campaigning against digital rights management, software patents, proprietary formats, activation keys and other restrictions; FSF launched 'Defective by Design' campaign.
Engaged with world leaders and politicians on free software
Obtained supportive statements about free software from figures such as Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, French politician Ségolène Royal, and Ecuador's president Rafael Correa (from meetings and outreach circa mid-2000s).
Influenced Kerala to adopt free software in schools
Met with Kerala state officials; helped persuade them to replace proprietary software in state-run schools — decision affected ~12,500 high schools.
Honorary recognitions (multiple in 2007)
Several honors including honorary professorships and doctorates in Peru and awards (Premio Internacional Extremadura al Conocimiento Libre, University of Pavia doctorate, etc.).
Honorary doctorate (Universidad Nacional de Trujillo)
Received a Doctorate honoris causa from Universidad Nacional de Trujillo (Peru) in 2008 (listed on his site).
Doctor of Science honoris causa (Lakehead University)
Awarded a Doctor of Science honoris causa by Lakehead University (Canada).
Resigned from teleSUR advisory council
Resigned from the advisory council of Latin American TV station teleSUR in February 2011, criticizing pro-Gaddafi propaganda.
Multiple academic honors (2012)
Received multiple honorary doctorates and professorships in Peru and other recognitions (several entries listed for 2012).
Lemote Yeeloong laptop stolen in Argentina
Stallman's Lemote machine (chosen because it runs free software at BIOS level) was stolen while he was in Argentina.
Used free-BIOS systems and promoted hardware that runs 100% free software
Advocated and used systems like Lemote Yeeloong, ThinkPad X60/T400/X200 with Libreboot and Trisquel GNU/Linux to ensure BIOS and system firmware freedom.
Inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame
Recognized for contributions as creator of the GNU Project and author of the GPL and for philosophical contributions to free software.
Continued global speaking and activism
Throughout the 1990s–2010s Stallman spent most of his time traveling to speak worldwide on free software, civil liberties and related topics; he delivered long-form speeches on core topics translating to multiple languages.
Honorary doctorate (Concordia University, Canada)
Received Doctorate honoris causa from Concordia University.
Honorary doctorate (Universidad las Américas, Peru)
Awarded a doctorate honoris causa by Universidad las Américas in Peru (2015).
ACM Software and Systems Award for GCC
Received The Association for Computing Machinery's Software and Systems Award for development of GCC (GNU Compiler Collection).
Honorary doctorate (Université Pierre et Marie Curie, France)
Received Doctorate honoris causa from Université Pierre et Marie Curie (2016).
Honorary doctorate (Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Argentina)
Received a doctorate honoris causa from Universidad Nacional de Jujuy (2017).
Instituted 'Kind Communication Guidelines' for GNU
Introduced 'Kind Communication Guidelines' to help GNU project mailing list discussions remain constructive (2018).
Honorary recognitions (2018)
Received honorary doctorate (Universidad de Tucumán) and honorary professorship (Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Mendoza) in 2018.
Spoke at Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Gave a talk (in Spanish) titled 'Free software in ethics and practice' at an event organized by BSC and UPC (June 18, 2018).
Resigned as FSF president and left MIT visiting scientist role
In September 2019, following controversy over comments about the Jeffrey Epstein case, Stallman resigned as president of the Free Software Foundation and left his visiting scientist role at MIT.
Stepped down as FSF president (end of long tenure)
Resigned from the FSF presidency in September 2019 following controversy; he had served as the FSF's nonsalaried president since its founding in 1985.
GNU project maintainers request organizational changes
October 2019: 33 GNU project maintainers published a statement asserting Stallman's behaviour had undermined core values and called for GNU maintainers to collectively decide project organization.
GNU maintainers publicly challenge Stallman's behavior
A public statement by 33 GNU maintainers in Oct 2019 criticized Stallman's behavior and called for collective decision-making about project organization.
Returned to FSF board of directors
Stallman returned to the Free Software Foundation board of directors in 2021 (reinstated to some FSF roles).
Continued leadership of the GNU Project
Although he resigned from the FSF presidency in 2019, Stallman remained head of the GNU Project and continued involvement in GNU governance; returned to FSF board in 2021.
Honorary doctorates (Peru, 2024)
Received doctorates honoris causa from Universidad Nacional de Cañete and Universidad Autónoma del Perú (listed for 2024 on Stallman site).
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