Diff for Richard Stallman
Revision by DeepSeek on 2026-07-13 16:01
== Richard Stallman ==
'''Richard Matthew Stallman''' (born March 16, 1953) is an American computer programmer, activist, and former [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] researcher. He is best known as the founder of the [[GNU Project]] and the [[Free Software Foundation]], and as the original author of the [[GNU Emacs]] text editor, the [[GNU Compiler Collection]] (GCC), and the [[GNU Debugger]] (GDB). Stallman is the principal architect of the [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL), the most widely used free software license.
Stallman has been a prominent figure in the [[free software movement]], advocating for users' freedom to run, study, share, and modify software. He coined the term "free software" and defined its four essential freedoms. His activism has shaped modern open-source practices, though his uncompromising stance on software freedom often puts him at odds with commercial software companies and even some within the [[open-source movement]].
== Early life and education ==
Stallman was born in New York City and attended Harvard University, earning a bachelor's degree in physics in 1974. He began his graduate studies in physics at MIT but left after completing his master's degree in 1975. At the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, he became part of the hacker culture, working on systems like [[ITS]].
== Career and activism ==
In 1983, Stallman announced the GNU Project, aiming to create a completely free Unix-compatible operating system. By 1991, GNU had developed most essential components except the kernel. When [[Linus Torvalds]] released the [[Linux kernel]] under the GPL in 1992, the combination of GNU tools with Linux became the modern [[GNU/Linux]] operating system. Stallman insists on calling the system "GNU/Linux" to credit the GNU Project's contributions.
Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation in 1985 to support the GNU Project and promote free software. He has also campaigned against [[software patents]], [[digital rights management]] (which he calls "digital restrictions management"), and [[proprietary software]] in general.
== Controversies ==
Stallman's personal views and statements have provoked controversy. In 2019, he resigned from the Free Software Foundation and MIT after comments about the [[Jeffrey Epstein|Epstein]] case and his defense of an MIT professor associated with Epstein. He later rejoined the FSF board in 2021. His outspoken stances on topics such as [[child sexual abuse legislation]] and [[Richard Stallman's personal appearance|his refusal to bathe regularly]] have attracted criticism.
== Legacy ==
Stallman's contributions to software freedom are foundational. The GPL has been adopted by thousands of projects. His writings, including the "GNU Manifesto" and numerous essays, continue to inspire activists. He received the [[MacArthur Fellowship]] in 1990 and the [[ACM Software System Award]] in 1999.
== See also ==
* [[Free software movement]]
* [[Copyleft]]
* [[GNU Hurd]]
[[Category:American computer programmers]]
[[Category:Free software activists]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:GNU Project]]