Steve Wozniak

Stephen Gary Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950, in San Jose, California, and showed early prodigious talent in electronics, building his first computer at age 13 and creating 'blue boxes' in high school to hack telephone networks for free calls. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, starting in 1971, where he was known for pranks and using the campus supercomputer, but took a leave after two years to work at Hewlett-Packard and fund his studies. There, he designed the Apple I microcomputer, which he and friend Steve Jobs launched by co-founding Apple Computer Company on April 1, 1976, with initial capital from selling personal items and production in Jobs' garage. Wozniak's engineering brilliance shone with the Apple II in 1977, featuring a built-in keyboard and color monitor support, which became a commercial hit and propelled Apple to a $1 billion market value upon its 1980 IPO, making Wozniak a multimillionaire. He returned briefly after a 1981 plane crash but left Apple full-time in 1985 amid internal shifts, including the failed Apple III. Completing his Berkeley degree in 1986, Wozniak founded CL 9 (first universal remote) and Wheels of Zeus (WOZ) in 2001 for wireless GPS, which closed in 2006. Post-Apple, Wozniak taught fifth grade, promoted computer literacy, co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 1990, and joined ventures like Fusion-io as chief scientist in 2008. He published his autobiography iWoz in 2006 and received honorary doctorates, including from North Carolina State in 2004. A philanthropist and Silicon Valley icon, he remains active in tech discussions and business.