Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, RIP

Paul Allen, billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, science fiction fan, and founder of Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture (formerly the Experience Museum Project), has died from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 65.

'From technology to science to music to art, I’m inspired by those who’ve blurred the boundaries, who’ve looked at the possibilities, and said, “What if...? In my own work, I’ve tried to anticipate what’s coming over the horizon, to hasten its arrival, and to apply it to people’s lives in a meaningful way.' -- Paul Allen

Allen's professional timeline is quite something:


1953: Paul Allen is born January 21, 1953 in Seattle, Washington

1968: While at Lakeside School, Paul meets Bill Gates. A friendship that would later produce one of the world’s most innovative companies, Microsoft.

1969: Attends first rock concert, where he sees Jimi Hendrix at Seattle Center Coliseum

1975: Founds Microsoft 

1982: In September, Paul is diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Nearly eight months later, doctors said he had beaten the disease.

1983: Officially resigns from Microsoft in March

1986: Founds Vulcan Inc. in Seattle as an investment and project management firm with his sister, Jody Allen

1988: Establishes The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

1988: Purchases the Portland Trail Blazers

1988: Rescues Seattle Cinerama from demolition by purchasing and restoring the theater

1990: The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation makes its first grant.

1990: Becomes a billionaire at age 37

1995: Makes his single biggest investment to date by purchasing a 18.5% stake in Dreamworks

1996: Purchases the St. Paul’s Hospital in London, which would reopen later after renovations as The Hospital Club

1997: Creates Vulcan Productions, an independent film production company

1997: Purchases the Seattle Seahawks, preventing the NFL team from relocating to California

2002: Donates $14 million to the University of Washington to construct the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering

2003: Launches the Allen Institute for Brain Science (AIBS) with $100 million in seed money

2004: SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately-based effort to successfully put a civilian in suborbital space, winning the Ansari X Prize

2004: Opens the Flying Heritage Collection, a private collection of warbirds, in Arlington, Washington

2008: Lifetime philanthropic giving reaches $1 billion in total

2009: Becomes a minority owner in Seattle Sounders, the MLS team

2011: Releases memoir “Idea Man”

2011: Announces the launch of Stratolaunch Systems. The venture’s goal is to create an air launch to orbit system

2012: Opens the Living Computer Museum, an interactive collection of vintage mainframes and machines, to the public in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood

2013: Announces expansion of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, aiming to model it after the Brain Science Institute

2014: Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos

2014: Pledges $100 million to support efforts to stop Ebola outbreak in West Africa

2014: Founds the Allen Institute for Cell Science 

2017: Locates the wreck of the USS Indianapolis

2018: Dies on Oct. 15 in Seattle of complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

More about Paul Allen in this statement posted by his umbrella company Vulcan Inc.

And here is the New York Times obituary.

So much fun catching up w/ computing pioneers at the #LCMCelebration last night! Here I am with old friend @BillGates pic.twitter.com/a5aQaamH9H— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) April 4, 2013