Living person. According to our records, Mark Shuttleworth is alive, so this timeline is open-ended. Recent events may be missing or awaiting verification, and details can change significantly.
See everyone currently living

Mark Shuttleworth

18 September 1973 – present

Mark Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur and software developer who founded the certificate authority Thawte and later the company Canonical, sponsor of the Ubuntu operating system. He sold Thawte to VeriSign in 1999 and in 2002 became the first South African to travel to space, flying to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. He has funded open-source and education work through the Shuttleworth Foundation.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Mark Shuttleworth.

Life events

Born in Welkom, South Africa
18 September 1973

Born on 18 September 1973 in the Orange Free State.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Studied business science at the University of Cape Town
c. 1992

He graduated with a degree in finance and information systems.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Founded Thawte Consulting
1995

He started the digital certificate business from his parents' garage while still a student.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Sold Thawte to VeriSign
December 1999

The sale made him one of South Africa's wealthiest technology entrepreneurs.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Established HBD Venture Capital and the Shuttleworth Foundation
2000

The foundation funds open-source software, open education and social innovation fellowships.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Flew to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TM-34
25 April 2002 – 5 May 2002

He spent eight days aboard the station as a self-funded spaceflight participant and returned on Soyuz TM-33.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Founded Canonical Ltd
2004

The company was created to provide commercial support for and development of the Ubuntu operating system.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
First release of Ubuntu
20 October 2004

Ubuntu 4.10, Warty Warthog, was released as a free Linux distribution with a fixed six-month release cycle.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Stepped down as chief executive of Canonical
2010

Jane Silber took over as CEO while he focused on product design and partnerships.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Returned as chief executive of Canonical
2017

He resumed the CEO role after the company refocused on cloud and server products.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓