What Programming Language Did Bill Gates Create?

Bill Gates, along with Paul Allen and Monte Davidoff, developed Altair BASIC, which was an essential piece of software in the early days of personal computing. Altair BASIC was initially released in two editions, 2.0 with both 4K and 8K versions, on July 1, 1975. This programming language played a crucial role in the history of Microsoft and personal computing, serving as one of the company’s first major successes. The stable release version of Altair BASIC reached 5.0 on July 14, 1978, marking its continued evolution and significance in the world of programming and computer technology.

In 1975, Bill Gates, while in his sophomore year at Harvard University, embarked on a significant journey in the world of programming. He teamed up with his close friend from his hometown, Paul G. Allen, with the goal of creating software tailored for the newly emerging microcomputers. To achieve this, they decided to adapt BASIC, a widely recognized and favored programming language primarily employed on larger computer systems, for microcomputer applications. This pivotal decision marked the starting point of their pioneering efforts in the software industry, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of Microsoft Corporation.