Ian Murdock
Founder of Debian, one of the most influential Linux distributions
- Lived
- 42 yrs
- 1973 – 2015
- Works listed
- 2
- Linux distribution, Document
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
- 0
- 0 followers
Ian Murdock was an American software engineer who founded Debian in 1993 while a student at Purdue University. Debian became one of the oldest and most influential Linux distributions and the basis for Ubuntu. He died in 2015.
Biography
Debian
Murdock was born in Germany and grew up in Lafayette, Indiana. As a student at Purdue in August 1993 he announced Debian, a Linux distribution developed openly by volunteers, and wrote the Debian Manifesto. The name combined his then girlfriend Debra’s name with his own.
Career
He founded Progeny Linux Systems, served as CTO of the Linux Foundation, and worked at Sun Microsystems on OpenSolaris, at Salesforce and at Docker.
Influence
Debian’s package system and volunteer governance influenced many distributions; Ubuntu and dozens of others are based on it.
Death
He died in San Francisco in December 2015 at 42.
Timeline
-
1973
Born in Konstanz, West Germany
-
1993
Announces Debian
-
1996
Graduates from Purdue
-
2000
Founds Progeny
-
2007
CTO of the Linux Foundation; joins Sun
-
2015
Joins Docker; dies
-
2015
Died, aged 42
Notable works
-
1993
Debian Linux distribution
-
1994
Debian Manifesto Document
Did you know?
-
1
Debian releases are named after Toy Story characters.
-
2
Debian is maintained by thousands of volunteers.
-
3
Ubuntu is based on Debian.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Ian Murdock?
Ian Murdock was an American software engineer who founded Debian in 1993 while a student at Purdue University. Debian became one of the oldest and most influential Linux distributions and the basis for Ubuntu. He died in 2015.
When did Ian Murdock die?
Ian Murdock died on 28 December 2015 at the age of 42.
Where is Ian Murdock from?
Ian Murdock was born in Konstanz, West Germany.
What is Ian Murdock known for?
Ian Murdock is best known for Founding the Debian project (1993); Debian Manifesto.
References
- Ian Murdock — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Ian Murdock — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. ianmurdock.com. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Ian Murdock (Q92761) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Ian Murdock”, 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
“Ian Murdock.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/ian-murdock
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