Linus Torvalds
Awards & Honours
6
Awards Won
6
Honours
7
Rankings
5
Covers
3
Records
Torvalds' achievements are historic in scale. He created the Linux kernel, which runs on everything from smartphones to supercomputers, and Git, which transformed software collaboration. He is the only person to have two separate creations become industry standards. His work earned him the Millennium Technology Prize, the highest technology award globally, and induction into the Internet Hall of Fame. He has been named to Time's 100 Most Important People of the Century and multiple Time 100 lists. His influence on modern computing is unmatched by any single individual.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Knight, First Class, Order of the Lion of Finland
National honour for contributions to technology.
Internet Hall of Fame
Inducted for creating Linux.
Asteroid 9793 Torvalds
Asteroid named in his honor.
Honorary Doctorate
Honorary doctorate for contributions to computing.
Honorary Doctorate
Honorary doctorate.
Honorary Doctorate
Honorary doctorate.
Rankings & Lists
Time 100 Most Important People of the Century
Time 100
Time 100
Time 100
European of the Year
Top 25 Most Influential People in IT
World's Most Powerful People
Magazine Covers
Time
2000
The Rebel Who Changed the World
BusinessWeek
2003
The Linux Revolution
Wired
1999
The Man Who Gave Away His Operating System
Forbes
2005
Open Source
Linux Journal
2005
The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Records & Feats
Creator of the most widely used operating system kernel
Linux kernel powers Android, web servers, supercomputers, and embedded devices worldwide.
Creator of the most widely used version control system
Git is used by over 90% of software developers globally.
Only person to have two separate creations become industry standards
Both Linux and Git are fundamental to modern software development.