Debian linux founder ian murdock, who died late last year in strange circumstances, killed himself, according to an autopsy report obtained this week on the evening of december 28, the 42year. Sep 02, 2017 f ounder of the debian gnulinux distribution project, ian murdock has died at the age of 42. His death, announced in a blog post by docker ceo ben golub, came after an apparent encounter with. Docker technical staff member ian murdock, who for nearly 20 years served as one of the most influential thought leaders inside the open source software community and was the cofounder of debian. The individual was 42 years old and we are confident that his sudden passing will definitely put the software community in a very emotional state at this current time. Murdocks work helped fuse an insistence on excellence with a public commitment to open, ethical software development, writes doc searls. Gnu linux is a collaborative effort between the gnu project, formed in 1983 to develop the gnu operating system and the development team of linux, a kernel. Ian murdock, one of the unsung heroes of the freeopen source software revolution and founder of the semieponymous debian gnu linux operating system, has died. Tech world mourns star programmer ian murdock who died at 42. Without ians work, neither debian nor its many offshoots, including ubuntu and linux router project discontinued, would have existed, and the landscape of the free software continue reading in memoriam. Ian murdock 28 april 1973 28 december 2015 was an american software engineer, known for being the founder of the debian project and progeny linux systems, a commercial linux company. He returned to working behind the scenes of the free software community, creating the progeny company, with the intention of marketing a distribution derived from debian.
Debian is only a part of ian s legacy but perhaps the one that he is most known for. Ian murdock 28 april 1973 28 december 2015 was a germanborn american software engineer. Dec 31, 2015 ian murdock, who was well known for being the founder of the debian linux operating system as well as the creator of aptget, passed away. Dec 30, 2015 ian murdock, founder of the debian gnu linux distribution project, has died at the age of 42. As we reported a few days ago, ian murdock, the creator of the debian gnulinux distribution project, died in rather unclear circumstances last week. The circumstances of murdocks death have not been made public. The debian project sadly announces that it has lost the founder of its community and project, ian murdock. Ian murdock, who was well known for being the founder of the debian linux operating system as well as the creator of aptget, passed away. Dec 31, 2015 san francisco ian murdock, a tech entrepreneur and executive best known for founding debian linux, one of the most successful versions of the opensource software, died monday. Ian ashley murdock 28 april 1973 28 december 2015 was an american software engineer, known for being the founder of the debian project and progeny linux systems, a commercial linux company. Debian founder ian murdock killed himself sf medical examiner. The project was founded in 1993, not long after slackware linux, but with a much different model of development. Ian started the debian project in august of 1993, releasing the first versions of debian later that same year.
Linux file system since documents are case sensitive when extracted. Members of the debian and free software community atlarge were shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of ian murdock. However, the first part already gives some information about the way ian murdock, the head of fsg. With a heavy heart debian mourns the passing of ian murdock, stalwart proponent of free open source software, father, son, and. Thanks ian for having left this important legacy that has positioned itself as one of the first gnulinux distribution based on free software and have defined this important social contract of the organization which is an example of transparency and reliability, and it has been since 1993.
With that simple gesture ian started a movement in the world of software. The post ends right before the interesting stuff which will be analyzed in a second part. Aug 17, 2015 these collections later called distributions got progressively better, and by the time i finally got my pc in march of 1993, the softlanding linux system or sls distribution had expanded to those thirty diskettes and now included a wealth of applicationsand, yes, the very same software that powered the x terminals in the enad building. Death of opensource pioneer ian murdock deemed suicide the. Ian murdock, founder of the debian project, was its first leader, from 1993 to 1996. Dec 31, 2015 ian murdock, who died in san francisco on 28 december, was the cocreator of the debian, the linux distribution he founded while an undergraduate at indianas purdue university in 1993. His death, announced in a blog post by docker ceo ben golub, came after an apparent encounter with police and a statement posted on murdocks twitter feed that he was going to commit suicide, though no cause of his death has been given. And prior to the linux foundation, i was cofounder and cto of progeny, a linux distribution vendor that helped organizations build highly customized, streamlined platforms for linux powered products. He leaves behind an important but little appreciated legacy as a programmer who helped bridge the gap between the free software foundation and the linux kernel in its early days. Ian murdock wrote about software installation on linux and mentioned the fsg face2face meeting which took place some days ago in berlin. Ian murdock simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Murdock created debian linux operating system in august 1993 and he is the ian in debian. At exacttarget, i was responsible for platform strategy, platform products, and developer programs.
The birth of debian, in the words of ian murdock himself. Mirror of ian murdocks website ian murdock linux old timer. Ian murdock deaths in the united states wikia fandom. Ian murdock, who died in san francisco on 28 december, was the cocreator of the debian, the linux distribution he founded while an undergraduate at indianas purdue university in 1993. The debian manifesto and the debian social contract are still governing the project he founded a commercial linux company called progeny linux systems and worked for a number of linux. Ian ashley murdock was a germanborn american software engineer, known for being the founder of the debian project and progeny linux systems, a commercial linux company add my comment cancel ads.
Debian was one of the first linux distributions and also one of the most successful and influential open source projects ever launched. Although murdocks parents were both from southern indiana, he was born in konstanz, west. Ian murdock, the founder of linux distribution debian, is dead at the age of 42. Dec 31, 2015 docker technical staff member ian murdock, who for nearly 20 years served as one of the most influential thought leaders inside the open source software community and was the cofounder of debian. I worked with ian when he was cto and i was coo of the linux foundation. Id known ian murdock, founder of debian linux and most recently a senior docker staffer, since 1996. Docker, the current employer of ian murdock, broke the news in a blog post. Thanks ian for having left this important legacy that has positioned itself as one of the first gnu linux distribution based on free software and have defined this important social contract of the organization which is an example of transparency and reliability, and it has been since 1993. I was saddened to learn of the recent death of debian project founder ian murdock at the age of 42, per the blog post on bits from debian. He was thoughtful, funny, hard working, and incredibly wellconnected in the free and commercial software communities. Murdock played a monumental role in defining the spirit of open source software collaborative.
Ian murdock, a 42year old linux pioneer and tech executive, died on monday. San francisco ian murdock, a tech entrepreneur and executive best known for founding debian linux, one of the most successful versions of the opensource software, died monday. Debian linux founder ian murdock dead at 42 the register. Debian is only a part of ians legacy but perhaps the one that he is most known for. His death, announced in a blog post by docker ceo ben golub, came after an apparent encounter with police and a statement posted on murdocks twitter feed that he was going to commit suicide, though no cause of his death has been given ian murdock, born in germany. I have no skin in this game, and his death, regardless of the reason, makes me sad. Dec 31, 2015 paying respects to ian murdock for all he did for free and open source software. Ian murdock, proponent of free open source software, father, son, and the ian in debian, has passed away. During his discovery of linux and the free software model, ian murdock. Ian murdock, father of debian, dead at 42 ars technica. Debian would go on to become the worlds universal operating system, running on everything from embedded devices to the. He died this week much too young, 42, in unclear circumstances. The debian name comes from combining his name with that of his future wife debra. He shaped debian into a community project based on the principals of free software.
Through ians creation of debian, the linux operating system has gained a reputation for being one of the most solid. And, with its integrated software repositories anyone could contribute to. Ian murdocks role in free and open source software history. The debian manifesto and the debian social contract are still governing the project. Paying respects to ian murdock for all he did for free and open source software. It was one of the first linux distros to be forged and is one of the most successful open. Linux basics tutorial guide for beginners about debian. He was known for being the founder of the debian project and progeny linux systems, a commercial linux company. Ian ashley murdock was an american software engineer, known for being the founder of the debian project and progeny linux systems, a commercial linux. New details emerge about debian founder ian murdock s.
Debian linux founder, ian murdock dead find out what. Ian murdocks role in free and open source software. Ian murdock, founder of the debian gnulinux distribution project, has died at the age of 42. Dec 30, 2015 with a heavy heart, debian mourns the passing of ian murdock, stalwart proponent of free open source software, father, son, and the ian in debian, the linux organization said in a statement.
But debian founder ian murdock did things a bit differently, and that has made all the difference. Legal documents and ian murdock his website, regarding suicide ian murdock founder of debian linux which happened in december 2015 live on the internet with over 70 thousand people as witnesses but unable to prevent his untimely death. The world at large became aware of his passing via a blog post on the docker website, where. All things linux and gnu linux this is neither a community exclusively about the kernel linux, nor is exclusively about the gnu operating system. Ian murdock about software installation on linux home. Just prior to his death, murdock had started sending increasingly erratic. After passing the baton to bruce perens, ian took a less public role. Ian murdock ianmurdock, is a linux distribution composed of free and opensource software. Ian murdock wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The blog posts doesnt say what caused the sudden death of ian. Dec 18, 2006 ian murdock wrote about software installation on linux and mentioned the fsg face2face meeting which took place some days ago in berlin. Just prior to his death, murdock had started sending increasingly erratic tweets from his twitter account. Murdock had a successful career, serving as an executive at sun microsystems, salesforce and most recently software. Ian murdock, who built debian linux, and who worked at sun.
Jul 07, 2016 murdock created debian linux operating system in august 1993 and he is the ian in debian. Similar in spirit to todays containeroptimized linux offerings e. Murdock died on 28 december 2015 from unknown causes in san francisco, california at the age of 42. Aug 26, 2017 ian murdock, proponent of free open source software, father, son, and the ian in debian, has passed away. Ian was most well known for his founding and creation of one of the most respected linux distributions to date, debian. Dec 30, 2015 i worked with ian when he was cto and i was coo of the linux foundation. On december 28, 2015, the free software world lost of one its smartest programmers and software engineers, ian murdock. F ounder of the debian gnulinux distribution project, ian murdock has died at the age of 42. Jul 05, 2011 but debian founder ian murdock did things a bit differently, and that has made all the difference.
Eight days into his tenure at sun, newly minted chief operating platforms officer ian murdock took the stage at the sdforum event, platform 2. However, the first part already gives some information about the way ian murdock, the head of fsg and the founder of debian. Debian linux founder ian murdock, who died late last year in strange circumstances, killed himself, according to an autopsy report obtained this. Debian founder ian murdock killed himself sf medical. On the evening of december 28, the 42yearold fired off a string of increasingly incoherent tweets, claiming he had been beaten up by police officers. He was born in konstanz, germany murdock died on 28 december 2015 from unknown causes in san francisco, california at the age of 42. With a heavy heart, debian mourns the passing of ian murdock, stalwart proponent of free open source software, father, son, and the ian in debian, the linux organization said in a statement.
Debian linux founder ian murdock, who died late last year in strange circumstances, killed himself, according to an autopsy report obtained this week. Debian would go on to become the worlds universal operating system, running on. Ian murdock about software installation on linux homeliquidat. Many developers joined him in this task of creating better software in a. The debian distribution was created in 1993 by ian murdock while a computer science student at purdue university. Debian news the debian project mourns the loss of ian murdock. He wanted a linux distribution that was maintained in a free and open manner adhering to the original intent of linux and gnu software. These collections later called distributions got progressively better, and by the time i finally got my pc in march of 1993, the softlanding linux system or sls distribution had expanded to those thirty diskettes and now included a wealth of applicationsand, yes, the very same software that powered the x terminals in the enad building.
Another one of debians distinctive characters is its organizational model. Jan 05, 2016 on december 28, 2015, the free software world lost of one its smartest programmers and software engineers, ian murdock. Murdock played a monumental role in defining the spirit of open source software collaborative projects that are freely shared, created and. Free, libre and open source software floss means that everyone has the freedom to use it, see how it works, and change it. With the executive director, jim zemlin, and a few others, we helped build the lf from the challenging merger of osdl and the free standards group.
This searches our archive since the launch of phoronix in 2004. Jul 06, 2016 murdock s first name was the ian in debian. Mysterious death of software pioneer ian murdock ruled suicide. All things linux and gnulinux this is neither a community exclusively about the kernel linux, nor is exclusively about the gnu operating system. Through ians creation of debian, the linux operating system has gained a reputation for being. Jan 06, 2016 as we reported a few days ago, ian murdock, the creator of the debian gnu linux distribution project, died in rather unclear circumstances last week. The world at large became aware of his passing via a blog post on the docker website, where murdock had only recently started as a. Murdock played a monumental role in defining the spirit of open source software collaborative projects that. Ian murdock, one of the unsung heroes of the freeopen source software revolution and founder of the semieponymous debian gnulinux operating system, has died. Death of opensource pioneer ian murdock deemed suicide. Debian posts longer tribute in honor of its founder debian.
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