In 1991, Linus Torvalds was a 21-year-old student at the University of Helsinki. While working on a personal project to create a free operating system kernel, he decided to share his progress with the world. 

The Humble Announcement

On August 25, 1991, Linus made a now-famous post to the comp.os.minix newsgroup:

I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since April, and is starting to get ready. I’d like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat

I’d like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won’t promise I’ll implement them :-)

PS. Yes - it’s free of any minix code

Torvalds’ message is particularly admirable for its humility and modesty. He described his work as "just a hobby" and not something that would become big. 

This casual tone and humor are a key characteristic of Linus Torvalds.

"Just a Hobby"

Linus' story is an example of how passion projects, even those started "just for fun" can grow into something monumental and revolutionary. 

You might wonder why those big words? Well he was the creator of the Linux Kernel. In future posts I’ll dive in on the history of this open-source breakthrough.