| Years |
Age |
Events |
| 1955 |
0 |
Born on February 24 in San Francisco, California, to Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. |
| 1961 |
6 |
Family moves to Mountain View, California, part of emerging Silicon Valley. |
| 1968 |
13 |
Graduates from Homestead High School, showing early interest in electronics. |
| 1971 |
16 |
Meets Steve Wozniak, five years his elder, through a mutual friend, bonding over electronics and pranks. |
| 1972 |
17 |
Enrolls at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, drops out after one semester, continues as a listener. |
| 1973 |
18 |
Audits classes at Reed College, including calligraphy, influencing later Apple design aesthetics. |
| 1974 |
19 |
Works at Atari, a video game company, later travels to India with Dan Kottke to study Zen Buddhism. |
| 1975 |
20 |
Starts assembling Apple I computers with Woz in the Jobses’ garage, sells to hobbyists, including 50 for the Byte Shop. |
| 1976 |
21 |
Incorporates Apple Computer on April 1 with Woz and Ron Wayne, releases Apple I, priced at $666.66. |
| 1977 |
22 |
Introduces the Apple II in January at the West Coast Computer Fair, goes on sale in October, becomes a mass-market success. |
| 1978 |
23 |
Daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs born on May 17 to Chrisann Brennan, initially denies paternity, later reconciles. |
| 1980 |
25 |
Apple goes public in December, Jobs’ net worth rises to over $200 million at age 25. |
| 1981 |
26 |
Introduces the Apple III in May, faces challenges with market reception. |
| 1982 |
27 |
Introduces the Lisa computer in January, named after his daughter, features early GUI. |
| 1983 |
28 |
Introduces the Macintosh computer in January, revolutionizes personal computing with GUI and mouse. |
| 1984 |
29 |
Airs Super Bowl commercial for Macintosh on January 22, iconic “1984” ad, launches product on January 24. |
| 1985 |
30 |
Resigns from Apple in September after boardroom conflict, founds NeXT in October. |
| 1986 |
31 |
Buys the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm for $10 million in February, becomes Pixar, leads to animated films. |
| 1988 |
33 |
Releases the first NeXT computer in October, targets education and business markets, features advanced software. |
| 1990 |
35 |
NeXT releases NeXTSTEP 2.0, enhances operating system capabilities. |
| 1993 |
38 |
NeXT releases NeXTSTEP 3.0, continues to innovate in software, struggles with hardware sales. |
| 1995 |
40 |
Toy Story, Pixar’s first feature film, released in November, becomes a box office hit, Jobs’ worth rises to $1.5 billion. |
| 1996 |
41 |
Apple buys NeXT for $400 million in December, Jobs returns as “informal adviser” to CEO Gil Amelio. |
| 1997 |
42 |
Returns to Apple as CEO in July, introduces “Think Different” campaign, revitalizes company. |
| 1998 |
43 |
Introduces the first all-in-one Mac, the “iMac,” in August, colorful design boosts sales. |
| 2000 |
45 |
Mac OS X released in March, marks transition to modern operating system, derived from NeXTSTEP. |
| 2001 |
46 |
Introduces the iPod on October 23, revolutionizes music industry, sells over 100 million units by 2007. |
| 2003 |
48 |
Diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor in July, opts for alternative treatments initially, later surgery. |
| 2005 |
50 |
Gives commencement speech at Stanford University in June, shares personal stories, including adoption and cancer. |
| 2007 |
52 |
Introduces the iPhone on January 9, transforms mobile communication, sells over 1 million in first year. |
| 2008 |
53 |
Introduces the App Store on July 10, expands iPhone functionality, ecosystem grows rapidly. |
| 2009 |
54 |
Undergoes liver transplant in April, takes medical leave, returns later that year. |
| 2010 |
55 |
Introduces the iPad on April 3, creates new tablet computing category, sells over 15 million in first year. |
| 2011 |
56 |
Resigns as CEO of Apple on August 24, becomes chairman, dies on October 5 from cancer complications. |
