Table of Contents
Steve Jobs Biography 2020
Fast Facts: Steve Jobs
- Known For: Co-founding Apple Computer Company and playing a pioneering role in the development of personal computing
- Also Known As Steven Paul Jobs
- Born: February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California
- Parents: Abdulfattah Jandali and Joanne Schieble (biological parents); Paul Jobs and Clara Hagopian (adoptive parents)
- Died: October 5, 2011, in Palo Alto, California
- Education: Reed College
- Awards and Honors: National Medal of Technology (with Steve Wozniak), Jefferson Award for Public Service, named the most powerful person in business by Fortune magazine, Inducted into the California Hall of Fame, inducted as a Disney Legend
- Spouse: Laurene Powell
- Children: Lisa (by Chrisann Brennan), Reed, Erin, Eve
- Notable Quote: “Of all the inventions of humans, the computer is going to rank near or at the top as history unfolds and we look back. It is the most awesome tool that we have ever invented. I feel incredibly lucky to be at exactly the right place in Silicon Valley, at exactly the right time, historically, where this invention has taken form.”
Who Was Steve Jobs?
Steve Jobs Biography 2020- Steven Paul Jobs was an American inventor, designer and entrepreneur who was the co-founder, chief executive and chairman of Apple Computer. Apple’s revolutionary products, which include the iPod, iPhone and iPad, are now seen as dictating the evolution of modern technology.
Born in 1955 to two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave him up for adoption, Jobs was smart but directionless, dropping out of college and experimenting with different pursuits before co-founding Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976. Jobs left the company in 1985, launching Pixar Animation Studios, then returned to Apple more than a decade later. Jobs died in 2011 following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
Early Life
Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, 1955, to two university students Joanne Schieble and Syrian-born John Jandali. They were both unmarried at the time, and Steven was given up for adoption.
Steven was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, whom he always considered to be his real parents. Steven’s father, Paul, encouraged him to experiment with electronics in their garage. This led to a lifelong interest in electronics and design. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
Jobs attended a local school in California and later enrolled at Reed College, Portland, Oregon. His education was characterised by excellent test results and potential. But, he struggled with formal education and his teachers reported he was a handful to teach. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
At Reed College, he attended a calligraphy course which fascinated him. He later said this course was instrumental in Apple’s multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts.
Steve Jobs in India- In 1974, Jobs travelled with Daniel Kottke to India in search of spiritual enlightenment. They travelled to the Ashram of Neem Karoli Baba in Kainchi. During his several months in India, he became aware of Buddhist and Eastern spiritual philosophy. At this time, he also experimented with psychedelic drugs; he later commented that these counter-culture experiences were instrumental in giving him a wider perspective on life and business. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
Founding and Leaving Apple Computer
In 1976, when Jobs was just 21, he and Wozniak started Apple Computer in the Jobs’ family garage. They funded their entrepreneurial venture by Jobs selling his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak selling his beloved scientific calculator. Jobs and Wozniak are credited with revolutionizing the computer industry with Apple by democratizing the technology and making machines smaller, cheaper, intuitive and accessible to everyday consumers.
Wozniak conceived of a series of user-friendly personal computers, and — with Jobs in charge of marketing — Apple initially marketed the computers for $666.66 each. The Apple I earned the corporation around $774,000. Three years after the release of Apple’s second model, the Apple II, the company’s sales increased by 700 per cent to $139 million. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
In 1980, Apple Computer became a publicly-traded company, with a market value of $1.2 billion by the end of its very first day of trading. Jobs looked to marketing expert John Sculley of Pepsi-Cola to take over the role of CEO for Apple.
The next several products from Apple suffered significant design flaws, however, resulting in recalls and consumer disappointment. IBM suddenly surpassed Apple in sales, and Apple had to compete with an IBM/PC-dominated business world.
In 1984, Apple released the Macintosh, marketing the computer as a piece of a counterculture lifestyle: romantic, youthful, creative. But despite positive sales and performance superior to IBM’s PCs, the Macintosh was still not IBM-compatible. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
Sculley believed Jobs was hurting Apple, and the company’s executives began to phase him out. Not actually having had an official title with the company he co-founded, Jobs was pushed into a more marginalized position and thus left Apple in 1985.
Steve Jobs and Pixar
In 1986, Jobs purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Believing in Pixar’s potential, Jobs initially invested $50 million of his own money in the company.
The studio went on to produce wildly popular movies such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles; Pixar’s films have collectively netted $4 billion. The studio merged with Walt Disney in 2006, making Jobs Disney’s largest shareholder. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
In 2011, Forbes estimated the majority of Jobs’ net worth at around $6.5 billion to $7 billion from his sale of Pixar to the Walt Disney Company in 2006. However, if Jobs had not sold his Apple shares in 1985, when he left the company he founded and helmed for over a decade, his net worth would have been a staggering $36 billion.
Return to Apple
Jobs launched Apple in a new direction. With a certain degree of ruthlessness, some projects were summarily ended. Instead, Jobs promoted the development of a new wave of products which focused on accessibility, appealing design and innovate features. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
The iPod was a revolutionary product in that it built on existing portable music devices and set the standard for portable digital music. In 2008, iTunes became the second-biggest music retailer in the US, with over six billion song downloads and over 200 million iPods sold.
In 2007, Apple successfully entered the mobile phone market, with the iPhone. This used features of the iPod to offer a multi-functional and touchscreen device to become one of the best-selling electronic products. In 2010, he introduced the iPad – a revolutionary new style of tablet computers. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
The design philosophy of Steve Jobs was to start with a fresh slate and imagine a new product that people would want to use. This contrasted with the alternative approach of trying to adapt current models to consumer feedback and focus groups. Job’s explains his philosophy of innovative design. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
Battle with Cancer
In 2003, Jobs discovered that he had a neuroendocrine tumour, a rare but operable form of pancreatic cancer. Instead of immediately opting for surgery, Jobs chose to alter his pesco-vegetarian diet while weighing Eastern treatment options.
For nine months, Jobs postponed surgery, making Apple’s board of directors nervous. Executives feared that shareholders would pull their stock if word got out that their CEO was ill. But in the end, Jobs’ confidentiality took precedence over shareholder disclosure.
In 2004, Jobs had successful surgery to remove the pancreatic tumour. True to form, in subsequent years Jobs disclosed little about his health. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
Early in 2009, reports circulated about Jobs’ weight loss, some predicting his health issues had returned, which included a liver transplant. Jobs responded to these concerns by stating he was dealing with a hormone imbalance. Days later, he went on a six-month leave of absence.
In an email message to employees, Jobs said his “health-related issues are more complex” than he thought, then named Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, as “responsible for Apple’s day-to-day operations.”
After nearly a year out of the spotlight, Jobs delivered a keynote address at an invite-only Apple event on September 9, 2009. He continued to serve as master of ceremonies, which included the unveiling of the iPad, throughout much of 2010. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
In January 2011, Jobs announced he was going on medical leave. In August, he resigned as CEO of Apple, handing the reins to Cook.
Steve Jobs’ Death and Last Words
Jobs died in Palo Alto on October 5, 2011, after battling pancreatic cancer for nearly a decade. He was 56 years old. (Steve Jobs Biography 2020)
TOP FIVE BIOGRAPHIES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE
Read about the Latest News, about Nepal Reviews, Gadgets, How-to, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Lyrics, etc. on the All Info Nepal website, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin.