October 12, 2011. That date may mean nothing to you, but it's a day we as a society lost something very precious. This is the day that we all owe thanks to, Dennis Ritchie, died. To those who wonder who he was or why you should care, well then I ask you how you're reading this post. You can owe that to him.
Dennis Ritchie created C, the programming language developed nearly 40 years ago that's still used as the building blocks of almost all modern technology. Not stopping there, he created Unix, the system that all operating systems are built upon. These are two of the most important things that has given us the Communication Age. Did he sue windows, apple, every person who programmed anything for royalties? No he did not. He gave his invention for the world to advance.
His death went nearly unnoticed as it came exactly one week after the death of Steve Jobs, a person who blatantly boasted about stealing other peoples ideas during interviews. He was also the man responsible for Apple to withdraw all funding into charities, and a person who attempted to stunt the advancements of technology through attempts at patenting and copyrighting existing technology.
Pardon for the obvious resentment to Steve Jobs, a person who was mourned by millions for contributing nothing to the world. I believe Dennis Ritchie deserves this acknowledgement. Steve Jobs was a business man who put a shiny coat on a car and sold it for twice the price. Dennis Ritchie meanwhile was the man who invented the engine itself, and asked nothing in return.
Rest in peace Dennis Ritchie. The world might forget you, but human history will not, so long as computers of any shape or form continues to exist.
