born Aug. 11, 1950, San Jose, Calif., U.S.
U.S. computer engineer.
He designed electronic devices and games while still in his teens. In the 1970s he worked for Hewlett-Packard. In 1976 he and Steven Jobs founded Apple Computer, Inc. Badly injured in a 1981 plane crash, he took a leave from Apple, but he returned to work on the revolutionary Macintosh computer. He left Apple for good in 1985, the year he was awarded the National Medal of Technology. He has since taught in elementary school.