Paul Allen (1953 - 2018) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who, together with Bill Gates, co-founded Microsoft in 1975 and helped launch the personal-computing revolution.[1] After leaving day-to-day work at Microsoft, he built a sprawling portfolio of technology, media, sports, and science ventures, and gave billions of dollars to charitable and research causes.
Early life and education
Paul Gardner Allen was born on January 21, 1953, in Seattle, Washington. He attended the private Lakeside School, where he met Bill Gates, and the two shared an early fascination with computers and programming.[2] Allen went on to enroll at Washington State University but left before graduating to pursue work as a programmer, eventually relocating to Massachusetts.
Microsoft
In 1975, inspired by the Altair 8800 microcomputer, Allen and Gates developed a version of the BASIC programming language for the machine and founded Microsoft to sell it. Allen is often credited with proposing the company's name and helping shape its early technical direction.[1] In 1980 Microsoft supplied the operating system that became MS-DOS to IBM, a deal that established the firm's dominance in personal computing. Allen resigned from Microsoft in 1983 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, though he remained a major shareholder and, for a time, a board member.
Investments and ventures
After leaving Microsoft, Allen founded Vulcan Inc. to manage his business and philanthropic activities and became a wide-ranging investor across technology, media, real estate, and aerospace.[2] He owned the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA and the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and held a stake in the Seattle Sounders FC. He also financed SpaceShipOne, the first privately built crewed craft to reach space.
Philanthropy and science
Allen was among the world's leading philanthropists, giving billions of dollars through the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. He founded the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence and supported conservation, ocean research, and the arts.[3] For this work he received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A musician and art collector, he also founded Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture.
Death and legacy
Allen died on October 15, 2018, in Seattle from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, at the age of 65. He is remembered as a co-architect of the personal-computing era whose fortune funded broad advances in science, technology, sports, and culture.
