Bill Gates American business magnate
Born William Henry Gates III on October 28 - 1955 in Seattle Washington. Gates began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 13 at the Lakeside School.
Dhanalakshmi Vijayan
Born William Henry Gates, III, on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. Gates began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 13 at the Lakeside School. He pursued his passion through college. Striking out on his own with his friend and business partner Paul Allen, Gates found himself at the right place at the right time. Through
technological innovation, keen business strategy, and aggressive competitive tactics he built the world's largest software business, Microsoft. In the process he became one of the richest men in the world.
Bill Gates grew up in an upper middle-class family with two sisters: Kristianne, who is
older, and Libby, who is younger. Their father, William H. Gates, Sr., was a promising, if
somewhat shy, law student when he met his future wife, Mary Maxwell. She was an athletic,
outgoing student at the University of Washington, actively involved in student affairs and
leadership. The Gates family atmosphere was warm and close, and all three children were
encouraged to be competitive and strive for excellence. Bill showed early signs of
competitiveness when he coordinated family athletic games at their summer house on Puget
Sound. He also relished in playing board games (Risk was his favorite) and excelled in
Monopoly.
Bill had a very close relationship with his mother, Mary, who after a brief career as a
teacher devoted her time to helping raise the children and working on civic affairs and with
charities. She also served on several corporate boards, among them First Interstate Bank in
Seattle (founded by her grandfather), the United Way, and International Business Machines
(IBM). She would often take Bill along on her volunteer work in schools and community
organizations.
Bill was a voracious reader as a child, spending many hours pouring over reference books
such as the encyclopedia. Around the age of 11 or 12, Bill's parents began to have concerns
about his behavior. He was doing well in school, but he seemed bored and withdrawn at times.
His parents worried he might become a loner. Though they were strong believers in public
education, when Bill turned 13 they enrolled him in Seattle's Lakeside School, an exclusive
preparatory school. He blossomed in nearly all his subjects, excelling in math and science, but
also doing very well in drama and English.
While at Lakeside School, a Seattle computer company offered to provide computer time
for the students. The Mother's Club used proceeds from the school's rummage sale to purchase a teletype terminal for students to use. Bill Gates became entranced with what a computer could do and spent much of his free time working on the terminal. He wrote a tic-tac-toe program in BASIC computer language that allowed users to play against the computer.
