Python 1.0, the first major release of the Python programming language, was published in 1994.
Guido van Rossum began developing Python in the Netherlands in the late 1980s, while working at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica. He released the first public version in 1991. Python 1.0 followed three years later and established the language as a practical, readable general-purpose tool.
Python’s early development included major features such as exception handling, functions, modules, and core data types. Later releases expanded the language considerably, including Python 2.0 in 2000 and Python 3.0 in 2008. Python 3 is the actively maintained modern line, while Python 2 reached its official end of life in 2020.
A common mix-up is confusing Python 1.0 with Python’s first public release: the language appeared publicly in 1991, but version 1.0 arrived in 1994. The name refers to Monty Python, the British comedy group, rather than to a snake.