Andy Hertzfeld
Software wizard of the original Macintosh team
- Age
- 73 yrs
- Birthday in 151 days
- Works listed
- 2
- Book, Software
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Andy Hertzfeld is an American software engineer who wrote much of the original Macintosh system software in the early 1980s. He later co-founded Radius, General Magic and Eazel, worked at Google on Google+, and chronicled Apple history on folklore.org.
Biography
Apple II
Hertzfeld studied at Brown University and UC Berkeley. He bought an Apple II in 1978 and joined Apple in 1979.
Macintosh
On the Mac team from 1981 he wrote the User Interface Toolbox, Desk Accessories and much of the system code. His business cards called him “Software Wizard”. He brought his friend Susan Kare in to design icons.
Start-ups
He wrote Switcher, an early way to run several Mac programs, and co-founded Radius, General Magic and the Linux-desktop company Eazel.
Google and history
At Google from 2005 he designed the circles interface of Google+. His website folklore.org and book Revolution in the Valley tell the Mac story.
Timeline
-
1953
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
-
1979
Joins Apple
-
1981
Joins the Macintosh team
-
1984
Macintosh launched
-
1990
Co-founds General Magic
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1999
Co-founds Eazel
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2004
Revolution in the Valley
-
2005
Joins Google
Notable works
-
2004
Revolution in the Valley Book
-
1985
Switcher Software
Did you know?
-
1
He was played by Michael Stuhlbarg in the 2015 film Steve Jobs.
-
2
He helped Susan Kare get her job at Apple.
-
3
His folklore.org stories became a book.
Connections
Related people
Frequently asked
Who is Andy Hertzfeld?
Andy Hertzfeld is an American software engineer who wrote much of the original Macintosh system software in the early 1980s. He later co-founded Radius, General Magic and Eazel, worked at Google on Google+, and chronicled Apple history on folklore.org.
How old is Andy Hertzfeld?
Andy Hertzfeld is 73 years old, born on 6 April 1953 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Where is Andy Hertzfeld from?
Andy Hertzfeld was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
What is Andy Hertzfeld known for?
Andy Hertzfeld is best known for Macintosh system software; Switcher; co-founding General Magic; folklore.org.
References
- Andy Hertzfeld — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Andy Hertzfeld — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Andy Hertzfeld — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.folklore.org. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Andy Hertzfeld (Q526166) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Andy Hertzfeld”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Andy Hertzfeld.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/andy-hertzfeld
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