Who created the Linux kernel?

Who created the Linux kernel? Linus Torvalds created it in 1991.

Torvalds began the project while studying computer science at the University of Helsinki. He wanted a Unix-like operating system for a personal computer using the new Intel 80386 processor. His early work included a task switcher and a terminal driver, and the project was initially inspired by MINIX.

Torvalds announced the project publicly in August 1991 and uploaded version 0.01 in September. The first official release, version 0.02, followed in October. The kernel was initially a small personal project, but he released its source code so other programmers could inspect, improve, and extend it.

A common mix-up is crediting Richard Stallman, who founded the GNU Project, or Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson, who helped create Unix and the C programming language. GNU supplied many important user-space tools, but Torvalds created the Linux kernel itself. Today, Linux development is collaborative, although Torvalds remains the project's principal maintainer.