On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that co-founder
Steve Jobs had died. He was 56 years old at the time.
We all know who Steve Jobs is.. The genius who revolutionized modern technology and the mastermind who
emphasized style as much as function in our everyday digital devices.
However, there are a few facts about Steve Jobs that
perhaps you don't know that would shock you. Let's learn a bit more about the
real Steve Jobs with these 20 facts (slightly abridged), published by INC.
1. Steve Jobs was
adopted shortly after being born.
2. Jobs was,
biologically, half Arab. His biological father was Syrian and his mother
was American.
3. Jobs and Apple
co-founder Steve Wozniak met in high school – Wozniak was 18 and Jobs was just
13.
4. Jobs was a
pescetarian, meaning he ate no meat except for fish.
5. He was an official
college dropout, but continued his education by informally auditing classes.
6. One class Jobs
audited was a calligraphy course, which he says was instrumental in the future
Apple products' attention to typography and font.
7. There was actually
a third founder of Apple – Ronald Wayne, who even designed Apple's first logo.
Wayne sold his 10 percent stake just two weeks after partnering with Jobs
and Wozniak for only $800.
8. Jobs was pushed
out of his own company in 1985. Despite the fallout, he later recognized the
coup as a blessing in disguise, as it gave him a chance to experiment
creatively and purchase an animation studio, which would later be known as
Pixar. Eventually he rejoined Apple as CEO in 1997 (and revitalized the failing
company).
9. While at Apple,
Jobs always kept his annual salary at $1. Don't worry, with 5.5 million shares
of Apple stock and as the majority shareholder of Disney stock (from selling
Pixar), he wasn't quite what you'd call a
starving artist.
10. Jobs had an entire
team devoted to packaging who studied the experience of opening a box to learn
how to achieve the excitement and emotional response that is now common with
Apple products.
11. Jobs is listed as
either primary inventor or co-inventor for 346 United States patents related to
a range of technologies, with most of the patents being for design.
12. Apple co-founder
Steve Wozniak notes that Jobs never learned how to code.
13. Jobs harbored an
intense dislike for PCs, and is quoted as saying to one friend, "I'd
rather sell dog shit than PCs."
14. He never put
license plates on his silver Mercedes (despite driving it constantly). How did
he do it? California has a rule that a car owner has six months to put plates
on a new car. Jobs just changed cars (to the identical model) every
six months, allowing him to drive without plates.
15. Jobs actually
served as a mentor for Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, even
sharing some of his advisers with the Google duo.
16. Jobs was furious
when Google created its Android devices, entering as an Apple competitor in the
phone market.
17. Jobs was found to
have pancreatic cancer in 2003, but rather than taking the doctor-recommended
path of immediate operation, Jobs subscribed to an alternative-medicine
regimen, including a vegan diet, acupuncture, and herbal remedies, even
consulting a psychic. After nine months, Jobs gave in and underwent
surgery. Many consider the delay a major factor in his eventual decline.
18. Apple, Microsoft,
and Disney properties (including Disneyland and Disney World) flew their flags
at half-staff when Jobs died.
19. Tim Cook revealed
in a 2014 interview that Jobs's main office and nameplate are still as
they were in 2011, when Jobs passed away.
20. Sunday, October
16, 2011, was declared Steve Jobs Day by the governor of
California, Jerry Brown.
