Technology · 1955–
Bill Gates Life & Career Timeline
Personal computing, Microsoft and global philanthropy.
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About this timeline
About Bill Gates
A young programmer helps put software at the centre of personal computing, then redirects his attention toward global health.
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Bill Gates biography
Bill Gates timeline: key events
Explore 18 documented Moments in chronological order. Read the dates, locations and source references below. Where available, additional context explains why a milestone matters.
Born in Seattle
William Henry Gates III was born in the Pacific Northwest.
Source: www.britannica.comFirst access to a computer
At Lakeside School, Gates discovered programming on a teletype terminal.
Source: www.britannica.comCodes with Paul Allen at Lakeside
Gates and Allen developed their programming partnership as students, years before founding Microsoft.
Connected: Steve Wozniak
Source: www.gatesnotes.comEnters Harvard
He studied at Harvard while continuing to pursue software opportunities.
Source: www.britannica.comMicrosoft begins
Gates and Paul Allen formed a company to create software for personal computers.
Source: www.britannica.comIBM operating-system deal
Microsoft agreed to provide the operating system for IBM’s new personal computer.
Source: www.britannica.comWindows 1.0
Microsoft released its first Windows graphical operating environment.
Source: www.britannica.comMicrosoft goes public
The public offering made Gates one of the industry’s most prominent figures.
Source: www.britannica.comWindows 3.0
The release helped establish Windows as a dominant personal-computing platform.
Source: www.britannica.comWindows 95
A massive consumer launch brought the Start button and broader internet era into homes.
Source: www.britannica.comGates Foundation expands
Bill and Melinda Gates combined philanthropic efforts in global health and education.
Source: www.britannica.comPlans transition from Microsoft
Gates announced a shift toward full-time foundation work.
Source: www.britannica.comLeaves daily Microsoft role
After more than three decades, he stepped back from day-to-day work.
Source: www.britannica.comLeaves his daily Microsoft role
Gates shifted his primary focus from Microsoft operations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Connected: Steve Jobs
Source: news.microsoft.comThe Giving Pledge
Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett encouraged billionaires to give away most of their wealth.
Source: www.britannica.comLeaves Microsoft board
Gates left the board to focus further on philanthropy.
Source: www.britannica.comWhat’s Next? documentary series
Netflix released What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates, a five-part series exploring artificial intelligence, misinformation, climate, inequality and disease.
Why it matters: The series placed Gates’s current public work in conversation with major technological and social questions.
Source: www.netflix.comPublishes his first memoir Source Code
Gates published Source Code, a memoir covering his childhood in Seattle, formative friendships and the earliest years of Microsoft.
Why it matters: The book marked an unusually personal examination of the experiences behind a career usually described through technology and philanthropy.
Source: www.gatesnotes.comExplore related timelines
This educational timeline is not endorsed by or affiliated with Bill Gates or their representatives. Event text is original editorial copy based on the linked sources.
Photo: UK Department for International Development / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
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About the Bill Gates timeline
Who is Bill Gates?
A young programmer helps put software at the centre of personal computing, then redirects his attention toward global health.
How many moments are included?
This public timeline currently contains 18 sourced moments spanning 1955–.
Who maintains this timeline?
This public timeline is created and maintained by Memmie Editorial Team. Schools, clubs and cultural organisations can apply to become timeline partners.
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