Steve Jobs will be added to the list among the greatest CEOs in history. Below is a timeline of important events in his life:
1955: Stephen Paul Jobs is born on February 24.
1972: Jobs drops out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon
1974: Jobs works for video game maker Atari and attends meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Steve, a high school friend who was a few years older.
1975: Jobs and Wozniak attend Homebrew Computer Club meetings.
1976: Steve Jobs forms Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak
1980: Apple goes public, raising $110 million in one of the biggest initial public offerings to date.
1982: Annual revenue climbs to $1 billion.
1985: Jobs and Wozniack resign from Apple
1986: Jobs starts Next Inc., a new computer company making high-end machines for universities. He also buys Pixar from “Star Wars” creator George Lucas for $10 million.
1991: Apple and IBM Corp. announce an alliance to develop new PC microprocessors and software. Apple unveils portable Macs called PowerBook.
1995: The first Mac clones go on sale.
1997: Jobs becomes “interim” CEO
2000: Apple removes “interim” label from Jobs’ CEO title.
2001: The first iPod goes on sale, as do computers with OS X, the modern Mac operating system based on Next software. Apple also releases iTunes software.
2003: Apple launches the iTunes Music Store with 200,000 songs at 99 cents each, giving people a convenient way to buy music legally online. It sells 1 million songs in the first week.
2004: Jobs undergoes surgery for a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer. Apple discloses his illness after the fact.
2005: Apple expands the iPod line with the tiny Nano and an iPod that can play video. The company also announces that future Macs will use Intel chips.
2006: Disney buys Pixar for $7.4 billion. Jobs becomes Disney’s largest individual shareholder, and much of his wealth is derived from this sale.
2007: Apple releases its first smartphone, the iPhone. Crowds camp overnight at stores to be one of the first to own the new device.
2008: Speculation mounts that Jobs is ill, given weight loss.
2009: Jobs explains severe weight loss by saying he has a treatable hormone imbalance and that he will continue to run Apple. Days later he backtracks and announces he will be on medical leave. He returns to work in June. Later it is learned that he received a liver transplant.
2010: Apple sells 15 million of its newest gadget, the iPad, in nine months, giving rise to a new category of modern touch-screen tablet computers.
Jan. 17, 2011: In a memo to Apple employees, Jobs announces a second medical leave with no set duration. Cook again steps in to run day-to-day operations. Jobs retains CEO title and remains involved in major decisions.
Aug. 24, 2011: Apple announces that Jobs is resigning as CEO. Cook takes the CEO title, and Apple names Jobs chairman.
Oct. 5, 2011: Jobs dies at 56. Apple announces his death.
