Pioneers Of Computing And Information Theory Codexery

Richard Stallman

Free software movement activist and programmer.

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He founded the Free Software Foundation in October 1985 to advocate against proprietary software.[1][2] Richard Matthew Stallman, who uses the initials rms, was born on March 16, 1953, and is an American programmer and activist for the free software movement.[3][4] To create a Unix-like operating system built entirely from free software, Stallman initiated the GNU Project in September 1983.[5]

Last updated 2026-10-07 from the source article.

Life and work

In 1971, he became a programmer at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and joined the hacker community.[6] In September 2019, he resigned as president of the FSF and left his visiting scientist role at MIT after making controversial comments about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.[7][2] He returned to the FSF board of directors in March 2021.[8] As a pre-teen attending a summer camp, Stallman developed an early interest in computing by reading manuals for the IBM 7094.[9]

Stallman earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard in 1974, then enrolled in a graduate program at MIT but abandoned it to concentrate on programming.[6][10] To dedicate himself entirely to the GNU project, Stallman left his MIT position in February 1984.[11] Stallman created the GNU C Compiler, the GNU Emacs editor, and authored every iteration of the GNU General Public License.[1][12]

What the cited sources add

An El País article from 2011 describes Stallman as a "liberator of the Internet" who has attacked governments for pushing restrictive laws to control the Internet.[4] An Ars Technica article from 2019 notes that Stallman is legendary for his stubbornness and ideological inflexibility, and that he has refused to use any proprietary software for decades.[2] The same article reports that Stallman resigned from MIT "due to pressure on MIT and me over a series of misunderstandings and mischaracterizations"[2] A Vice article from 2019 states that Stallman argued in an email thread that the "most plausible scenario" is that Epstein's underage victims were "entirely willing" while being trafficked.[13]

Stallman's personal website from 2022 states that he uses a Thinkpad x200 computer with a free initialization program and a free operating system.[14] A TorrentFreak article from 2011 reports that Stallman said the public should disobey Spain's new anti-piracy law.[15]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Free Software Foundation Management", Free Software Foundation, March 7, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Richard Stallman leaves MIT after controversial remarks on rape", Ars Technica, September 17, 2019. facts only, no text reused. arstechnica.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Humorous Bio", Richard Stallman's 1983 biography (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. "La 'ley Sinde' es tan injusta que debería ser desobedecida", El País, June 8, 2011. facts only, no text reused. cultura.elpais.com
  5. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Initial GNU announcement", September 27, 1983 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Free and Open Source Software and FRAND-based patent licenses: How to mediate between Standard Essential Patent and Free and Open Source Software", The Journal of World Intellectual Property, February 25, 2019, p. 78–10; "Humorous Bio", Richard Stallman's 1983 biography; "The Wikipedia Revolution", Hyperion, 2009; "Serious Bio" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bekiempis, "MIT scientist resigns over emails discussing academic linked to Epstein", The Guardian, September 17, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Richard Stallman returns to FSF 18 months after controversial rape comments", Ars Technica, March 22, 2021; "Richard Stallman returns to the Free Software Foundation after resigning in 2019", The Verge, March 22, 2021; "An open letter in support of RMS"; "iTWire - Pro-Stallman group issues open letter, wants him to stay on FSF board", itwire.com; "Statement of FSF board on election of Richard Stallman", Free Software Foundation, April 12, 2021; "RMS addresses the free software community — Free Software Foundation — Working together fo en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Biography", stallman.org; "The Basement Interviews-Freeing the Code", IA, March 21, 2006; "The Basement Interviews-Freeing the Code", IA, March 21, 2006; "Richard Stallman: High School Misfit, Symbol of Free Software, MacArthur-Certified Genius", The More Things Change, 1999; "Richard Stallman: High School Misfit, Symbol of Free Software, MacArthur-Certified Genius", The More Things Change, 1999 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Richard Stallman: High School Misfit, Symbol of Free Software, MacArthur-Certified Genius", The More Things Change, 1999; "Free as in freedom: Richard Stallman's crusade for free software", O'Reilly, 2002 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Stallman shares Takeda award of nearly $1M", Mit News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology; "Richard Stallman – MIT CSAIL", www.csail.mit.edu; "Lifestyle", Richard Stallman's Personal Site, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Richard Stallman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Contributors (Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC))", gcc.gnu.org; "Richard Stallman lecture at the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden", gnu.org, October 30, 1986; "Emacs Timeline", April 8, 1996 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. "Famed Computer Scientist Richard Stallman Described Epstein Victims As 'Entirely Willing'", Vice, September 13, 2019. facts only, no text reused. vice.com
  14. "How I do my computing". facts only, no text reused. stallman.org
  15. "Richard Stallman Opts to Disobey Anti-Piracy Law", TorrentFreak.com, June 10, 2011. facts only, no text reused. torrentfreak.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Richard Stallman (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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