Life timeline of Steve Jobs

1972 – 1972

Enrolled at Reed College in Portland

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Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in fall 1972. Reed says he was an English major and formally attended for one semester.

Around 1973

Dropped out of Reed after his first semester

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Jobs said he dropped out after about six months because he could not see the value in required classes, did not know what he wanted to do, and was uncomfortable spending his working-class parents' life savings on tuition. Reed describes the decision as coming after one semester. The date is approximate because the accounts give duration rather than a specific day.

Around 1973

Studied calligraphy informally at Reed

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As a drop-in, Jobs attended calligraphy instruction at Reed, learning about serif and sans-serif typefaces, spacing and typography. In 2005 he explicitly connected that experience to the Macintosh's multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts.

1974 – 1974

Worked at Atari before travelling abroad

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After leaving Reed, Jobs returned to the Bay Area and applied to Atari. He later recalled that Al Alcorn hired him and that he worked there for a little less than a year, including work connected with game hardware.

1976

Sold his Volkswagen Microbus to help fund Apple I circuit boards

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Jobs said he sold his Volkswagen Microbus while Wozniak sold his HP calculator so they could pay to have printed circuit boards designed, reducing assembly time from dozens of hours to roughly an hour.

1976 – 1976

Built and sold the first batch of Apple I computers

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Jobs recalled that an early Mountain View computer store offered to take fifty machines if they were fully assembled. Jobs and Wozniak bought parts for one hundred, built and delivered fifty, paid suppliers, then had to learn sales and distribution to move the remaining inventory.

1976

Chose to commercialise the home-built computer with Wozniak

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Jobs recalled that he and Wozniak first built computers because they wanted one and could not afford commercial machines. After Hewlett-Packard and Atari declined to pursue their idea, they decided to create their own company.

1 Apr 1976

Co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne

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Apple's original partnership was formed on 1 April 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company grew out of Jobs and Wozniak's Apple I work.

1977 – 1977

Brought the Apple II to market

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Apple's breakthrough came with the Apple II, a more complete personal computer with colour capability and a design intended to work out of the box. The Steve Jobs Archive describes it as the company's breakthrough, and the Associated Press identifies the Apple II as Apple's first major success in 1977.

Dec 1980

Apple went public

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Apple completed its initial public offering in December 1980, converting the company's rapid growth into substantial public-market value and making Jobs, one of its largest shareholders, very wealthy at a young age.

1981 – 24 Jan 1984

Led the Macintosh effort

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Jobs became the central product leader around the Macintosh team in the early 1980s. He later described Macintosh as the first product for which he led a team that he believed had changed the world, combining graphical interaction, a mouse, desktop icons and strong typography.

24 Jan 1984

Introduced the Macintosh

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Apple introduced the original Macintosh in January 1984. Jobs viewed its graphical interface, mouse, typography and approachable design as a major shift in personal computing and later called it Apple's finest creation of that period.

1985 – 20 Dec 1996

Founder and chief executive of NeXT

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Jobs led NeXT from its founding after his Apple departure until Apple agreed to acquire the company in December 1996. The venture struggled in hardware, later focused on software, and ultimately supplied technology that became central to Apple's software renaissance.

1985 – 1988

Developed NeXT workstations for higher education and research

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A conversation with Nobel laureate Paul Berg about using computers to simulate biological experiments helped Jobs shape NeXT's original educational and scientific workstation concept. NeXT spent the late 1980s developing an advanced computer and object-oriented software environment.

1985

Started NeXT after leaving Apple

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Jobs said that after the shock of leaving Apple he realised he still loved the work and decided to start over. He founded NeXT to build advanced computers and software, initially with an education and scientific-computing focus.

Sept 1985

Lost his operating role at Apple and left the company

After Jobs and CEO John Sculley clashed over Apple's direction, the board sided with Sculley and Jobs lost his operating authority. Jobs described the experience as being fired and publicly devastated; the Steve Jobs Archive dates his departure to September 1985.

1986 – 5 May 2006

Led and financed Pixar through its independent years

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As Pixar's majority owner and chief executive, Jobs supported the company through a long period when hardware, software and advertising work did not reliably pay the bills. He later said he ended up writing cheques to keep Pixar going for roughly ten years while the animation team developed toward feature films.

1986

Became Pixar's majority shareholder after its spinout from Lucasfilm

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Jobs financed the spinout of Lucasfilm's computer graphics group as Pixar in 1986 and became its majority shareholder. He backed a company that initially tried hardware and software businesses while its animation team developed short films.

29 Mar 1989

Pixar's Tin Toy won the Academy Award for animated short film

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Pixar's Tin Toy won the Academy Award for best animated short. In an email the next day, Jobs celebrated it as a milestone for computer graphics and said Pixar had led the way.

1993

Refocused NeXT from hardware to software

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Jobs narrowed NeXT to its software strengths after hardware sales disappointed. The shift closed the factory and eliminated more than 200 jobs from a workforce of about 530.

Nov 1995

Pixar released Toy Story

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Pixar premiered Toy Story in November 1995, the world's first full-length fully computer-animated feature film. It became the top-grossing animated film of the year and validated the animation strategy Jobs had financed for years.

Nov 1995

Pixar completed a successful initial public offering

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Pixar went public about a week after Toy Story opened. The Steve Jobs Archive describes the IPO as a bold bet that depended heavily on Toy Story's success; the offering made Jobs's Pixar stake highly valuable.

Dec 1996 – 5 Jan 2000

Returned to Apple first as a special adviser, then interim CEO

The NeXT acquisition brought Jobs back to Apple as a special adviser to CEO Gil Amelio. During 1997 he became the company's de facto leader and then interim chief executive, while still leading Pixar.

20 Dec 1996

Apple agreed to acquire NeXT for $427 million

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Apple announced on 20 December 1996 that it would acquire NeXT for $427 million. Jobs told Pixar employees the deal would make NeXT's OpenStep technology mainstream and said he would advise Apple on product strategy.

1997

Simplified Apple's sprawling product strategy

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During the turnaround, Jobs sharply reduced Apple's product complexity and concentrated resources on a small number of clearly defined consumer and professional products. The decision reflected his belief that focus required saying no to many good ideas.

6 Aug 1997

Announced a $150 million Microsoft investment and broader Apple-Microsoft deal

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At Macworld Boston, Jobs announced an agreement under which Microsoft would invest $150 million in non-voting Apple shares, continue Microsoft Office for Mac, and settle major patent disputes. It was a pragmatic step during Apple's financial crisis.

6 May 1998

Introduced the iMac

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Jobs introduced the original iMac on 6 May 1998 as a distinctive, Internet-focused all-in-one consumer computer. It was the first major new consumer hardware of his second Apple era and became an important symbol of the turnaround.

9 Jan 2001

Introduced iTunes

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At Macworld on 9 January 2001, Apple introduced iTunes as free Mac jukebox software for importing, organising, playing and burning digital music. Jobs framed the goal as making complex music software dramatically simpler.

24 Mar 2001

Shipped Mac OS X

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Apple began shipping Mac OS X on 24 March 2001. Jobs called it Apple's most important software since the original Macintosh operating system. NeXT-derived technologies were central to the platform.

19 May 2001

Opened Apple's first retail stores

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Apple opened its first two retail stores on 19 May 2001 at Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia, and the Glendale Galleria in California. Jobs personally presented the store concept as a way to let customers experience products, solutions and technical help directly.

23 Oct 2001

Introduced the iPod

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Apple introduced iPod on 23 October 2001, a 5GB portable music player holding up to 1,000 songs and synchronising with iTunes over FireWire. Jobs presented it as a new category built around carrying an entire music collection in a pocket.

28 Apr 2003

Launched the iTunes Music Store

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Apple launched the iTunes Music Store on 28 April 2003 with songs from major labels sold à la carte for 99 cents, integrated into iTunes and iPod. The launch was a major step in Apple's expansion from computers into digital media distribution.

24 Jan 2006

Disney agreed to acquire Pixar

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Disney announced an all-stock agreement to buy Pixar for about $7.4 billion on 24 January 2006. The deal followed a repaired relationship between Jobs and Disney CEO Bob Iger and positioned Pixar's leadership at the centre of Disney animation.

9 Jan 2007

Introduced the iPhone

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At Macworld San Francisco on 9 January 2007, Jobs introduced iPhone as one device combining a phone, widescreen iPod and Internet communicator around a large multi-touch display.

10 Jul 2008

Launched the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch

Also in Work

Apple launched the App Store in July 2008 as the distribution system for third-party native iPhone and iPod touch applications. The move turned iPhone into a broader software platform under Jobs's leadership.

2010 – 7 Jun 2011

Worked on the campus that became Apple Park

Also in Location · Work

The Steve Jobs Archive shows Jobs reviewing materials for the future Apple campus in 2010. He remained deeply involved in the plan and later personally presented the proposed campus to the Cupertino City Council.

27 Jan 2010

Introduced the iPad

Also in Work

Jobs introduced iPad on 27 January 2010 as a new multi-touch device positioned between smartphones and laptops. The Steve Jobs Archive later preserved his reflections that Apple's approach to iPad resembled Pixar's effort to make sophisticated work accessible to broad audiences.

24 Aug 2011

Resigned as Apple's chief executive

On 24 August 2011 Jobs resigned as Apple CEO, writing that the day had come when he could no longer meet the duties and expectations of the role. He recommended that the board execute its succession plan and name Tim Cook CEO.

1 Apr 1976 – Sept 1985

First Apple era

Jobs served as a founder and leading product and business figure during Apple's rise from Apple I and Apple II to Macintosh. His responsibilities shifted repeatedly as the company grew, and he left after the 1985 internal power struggle.

5 Jan 2000 – 24 Aug 2011

Apple's reinvention under Jobs

As permanent CEO, Jobs led Apple through Mac OS X, retail stores, iPod, iTunes, iPhone and iPad, while building an increasingly integrated hardware, software and services strategy. He resigned the CEO role in August 2011 when he said he could no longer meet its duties and expectations.