Think Smart, Be Fearless facts for kids

Think Smart, Be Fearless: A Biography of Bill Gates is a 2019 picture book biography. It tells the story of Bill Gates, a famous computer pioneer. Sharon Mentyka wrote the book, and Vivien Mildenberger created the pictures. Sasquatch Books first published this book.

The book has received good reviews from many places. These include Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and GeekDad. It helps young readers learn about Bill Gates' life.

Who is Bill Gates?

Bill Gates is a well-known American businessman and computer programmer. He is famous for co-founding Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft is one of the world's largest software companies. He also became a very important philanthropist. This means he gives away a lot of money to help others.

Early Life and Education

William Henry Gates III was born on October 28, 1955. His hometown is Seattle, Washington. His father was a lawyer, and his mother was a teacher. Bill showed an early interest in computers. He started programming computers when he was only 13 years old.

He attended Lakeside School, a private school in Seattle. There, he met Paul Allen, who would become his future business partner. They spent many hours learning about computers together. They even got into trouble sometimes for using too much computer time!

How Did He Learn About Computers?

At Lakeside School, Bill and Paul used a teletype machine. This machine connected them to a large computer. They learned computer languages like BASIC. They even helped a company find bugs in their software. This early experience was very important for their future.

Starting Microsoft

In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft. They wanted to create software for personal computers. At that time, computers were new and very big. Most people did not have one at home.

Their first big success was with a programming language. It was called Altair BASIC. This language helped people write programs for a small computer called the Altair 8800. This was a huge step for their new company.

The Rise of MS-DOS and Windows

Microsoft's biggest breakthrough came in the early 1980s. They created an operating system called MS-DOS. An operating system is like the main program that runs a computer. IBM chose MS-DOS for their new personal computers. This made Microsoft very successful.

Later, Microsoft developed Microsoft Windows. Windows was a new kind of operating system. It used a graphical user interface. This meant people could use a mouse to click on icons. It was much easier than typing commands. Windows became the most popular operating system in the world.

Life After Microsoft

Bill Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft in 2000. He remained involved as Chief Software Architect. In 2008, he left his full-time role at Microsoft. He wanted to focus more on his charity work.

Philanthropy and Giving Back

Bill Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates, started a foundation. It is called the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This foundation is one of the largest private charities in the world. They work to improve health and reduce poverty.

The foundation helps people in many ways. They fund research for diseases like malaria. They also work to improve education. Their goal is to help everyone live a healthy and productive life. Bill Gates believes in using wealth to make a positive difference.