Steve Wozniak
The gentle engineering genius who built the first Apple computer by hand, democratizing technology for everyone.
Born 1950 (age 76)·American engineer and programmer·Birthday: August 11·Baby Boomers
Biography
Steve Wozniak, or 'Woz,' is the archetype of the happy inventor, a man who built computers for the joy of it. In the mid-1970s, working from schematics in his mind and parts from his garage, he single-handedly designed the Apple I, a machine that removed mystery from computing. His masterstroke, the Apple II, was a polished, friendly appliance that came fully assembled and ready to program; it created the template for the personal computer industry. While his partner Steve Jobs envisioned markets, Wozniak obsessed over elegant, user-friendly design—like his revolutionary disk drive controller that used far fewer chips than standard. His instinct was always to share, famously giving away his own stock to early employees who he felt were underpaid. Wozniak's pure engineering ethos, that technology should empower and delight, is the bedrock upon which Apple's empire was first constructed.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Steve was born in 1950, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Steve Was Born
The biggest hits of 1950
#1 Movie
Cinderella
Best Picture
All About Eve
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Steve's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1950Born
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1955Started school
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1963Became a teenager
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Could drive
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1968Could vote
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Turned 21
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1980Turned 30
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 40
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 50
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 60
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 70
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 76 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Designed and hand-built the Apple I computer in 1976, which launched the Apple Computer company.
- Was the primary architect of the Apple II, the first mass-market, pre-assembled personal computer, which fueled the industry's growth.
- Wrote much of the original software for the Apple computers, including the Integer BASIC programming language and the monitor ROM.
Did You Know?
He and Steve Jobs initially funded Apple by selling Wozniak's HP-65 calculator and Jobs's Volkswagen van.
He permanently left Apple as a full-time employee in 1985, but remains a shareholder and an employee listed on the official roster.
He taught computer classes to elementary school students for years after leaving Apple.
He is a lifelong prankster, once building a device that made his TV think it was receiving a call from the President.
“Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window.”
