On this day in 2011, Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple — which revolutionized the computer, music, and mobile communications industries — died at age 56 of complications from pancreatic cancer.
Tim Cook, who took over as Apple’s CEO after Jobs’ death, today posted a tweet remembering the visionary and how much Steve meant to him personally — and to Apple as a whole.
Steve showed me—and all of us—what it means to serve humanity. We miss him, today and every day, and we’ll never forget the example he set for us. pic.twitter.com/fsdeOIl6LB
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 5, 2018
Here is what Cook said on the day of Steve Jobs‘ death:
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. […]
No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.
Today, precisely seven years after his passing, Jobs’ name is still synonymous with visionary, genius, innovator, and icon. He revolutionized the world with ground-breaking innovations with the personal computer, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
Despite a series of medical issues, including surgery in 2004 to remove a pancreatic tumour and a 2009 liver transplant, Jobs continued to lead Apple until August 24, 2011, when he stepped down as the company’s chief executive. Six weeks later, he passed away at his Palo Alto, California, home.
Under Steve Jobs’ leadership, Apple developed and launched several groundbreaking products including the Macintosh (1984), the iPod (2001), and the iPhone (2007). On June 6, 2011, Steve Jobs gave his last keynote at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in 2011.
In his remembrance, here’s a quick anecdote about Jobs insisting on paying for Scott Forstall’s lunches:
He and I would go to lunch at the cafeteria at Apple all the time, and he would insist on paying. I was like, you’re paying me enough that I can afford the $8 lunch, but he’d always – if he got his food before, he’d wait at the line for me to get up there, and he’d pay. And he made it so you could pay with your badge. So you’d come up there and you’d badge in, and it would be directly withdrawn from your paycheck. “Somehow, I was like, ‘Why are you – I mean, like, really, go sit down. I’ll be out there. I feel like an ass while you’re sitting there waiting for me, and I feel like I can’t get any long-cooking food,’ and he said, ‘No, no, no. This is great. I only get paid $1 a year. I don’t know who’s paying every time I badge.’ He was a multibillionaire scamming Apple!
