David Heinemeier Hansson
Danish programmer who created Ruby on Rails and co-owns 37signals
- Age
- 47 yrs
- Birthday in 343 days
- Works listed
- 3
- Web framework, Book
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 2005
- Profile views
- 4
- 0 followers
David Heinemeier Hansson, known as DHH, is a Danish programmer who created the Ruby on Rails web framework in 2004 while building Basecamp. He is co-owner and CTO of 37signals, a best-selling author on work culture and a racing driver who won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Biography
Background
Hansson studied at the Copenhagen Business School and worked as a web developer in Denmark.
Ruby on Rails
Working remotely for Jason Fried’s company 37signals, he wrote the project-management app Basecamp in Ruby and extracted its framework as Ruby on Rails, released in 2004. Rails’ conventions and speed of development made it hugely influential; it was used to build GitHub, Shopify and Airbnb.
37signals
He became a partner in 37signals and co-wrote books with Fried, including Rework (2010) and It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work. The company launched the HEY email service in 2020 and moved off the cloud to its own servers.
Racing
Hansson races cars and won the LMP2 class at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also writes outspokenly about technology and politics.
Timeline
-
1979
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark
-
2003
Builds Basecamp
-
2004
Releases Ruby on Rails
-
2005
Rails 1.0; O’Reilly Open Source Award
-
2010
Rework published
-
2014
Wins LMP2 class at Le Mans
-
2020
HEY email launched
-
2023
37signals leaves the cloud
Notable works
-
2004
Ruby on Rails Web framework
-
2010
Rework Book
With Jason Fried.
-
2013
Remote: Office Not Required Book
With Jason Fried.
Awards and honours
-
O’Reilly Open Source Award
2005
Did you know?
-
1
He worked for 37signals from Denmark before moving to the US.
-
2
Rails introduced the motto “convention over configuration”.
-
3
He also created the Omarchy Linux setup.
Connections
Also born on 15 October
-
Ali Fazal
Film & TV · Actor in Hindi cinema, streaming series and Hollywood
1986
-
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Science · Aerospace scientist and 11th President of India
1931
-
Akbar
Historical Figures · Third Mughal emperor, known for expansion and religious tolerance
1542
-
Steve Crocker
Technology · Internet pioneer who wrote the first Request for Comments
1944
Frequently asked
Who is David Heinemeier Hansson?
David Heinemeier Hansson, known as DHH, is a Danish programmer who created the Ruby on Rails web framework in 2004 while building Basecamp. He is co-owner and CTO of 37signals, a best-selling author on work culture and a racing driver who won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
How old is David Heinemeier Hansson?
David Heinemeier Hansson is 47 years old, born on 15 October 1979 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Where is David Heinemeier Hansson from?
David Heinemeier Hansson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.
What is David Heinemeier Hansson known for?
David Heinemeier Hansson is best known for Ruby on Rails (2004); Basecamp and HEY at 37signals; Le Mans class winner.
What awards has David Heinemeier Hansson received?
Notable honours include O’Reilly Open Source Award (2005).
References
- David Heinemeier Hansson — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- David Heinemeier Hansson — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. dhh.dk. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- David Heinemeier Hansson (Q719413) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “David Heinemeier Hansson”, 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
“David Heinemeier Hansson.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/david-heinemeier-hansson
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