Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak (born 1950 in San José, California) is an American computer engineer and the co-founder of Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.), with Steve Jobs. His inventions and machines are credited with contributing greatly to the personal computer revolution of the 1970s. Wozniak created the Apple I and Apple II computers in the mid-1970s. The Apple II gained a sizable amount of popularity, eventually becoming one of the best selling personal computers of the 1970s and early 1980s.
Wozniak has several nicknames, including "The Woz", "Wonderful Wizard of Woz" and "iWoz" (a reference to the ubiquitous naming scheme for Apple products). "WoZ" (short for "Wheels of Zeus") is also the name of a company Wozniak founded. He is known for his introverted character, and he finds his level of celebrity somewhat annoying. He is also known as the "Other Steve" of Apple Computer, the better known Steve being co-founder and current CEO Steve Jobs.
By 1975, Wozniak withdrew from the University of California, Berkeley (he would later return to finish his B.S. degree in E.E.C.S., which he received in 1986 enrolled under the alias Rocky Clark) and came up with the computer that eventually made him famous (Apple II).
On April 1, 1976, Jobs and Wozniak formed Apple Computer. Wozniak quit his job at H.P. and became the vice president in charge of research and development at Apple. In 1980, Apple went public and made Jobs and Wozniak multimillionaires.
Wozniak ended his full time employment with Apple for good on February 6, 1987, twelve years after setting up the company. However he still remains an employee (and receives a paycheck) and a shareholder. He also maintains connections with Steve Jobs.
Wozniak received the National Medal of Technology in 1985 from Ronald Reagan, then President of the U.S.
In December 1989, he received an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the University of Colorado. In 1997, he was named a Fellow of the Computer History Museum. In September 2000, Steve Wozniak was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In May 2004, Wozniak was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Kettering University, in Flint, Michigan. He also received an honorary S.D. from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology.
iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: Getting to the Core of Apple's Inventor