President Joe Biden announced the names of 17 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday and it included the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who will be awarded posthumously.
According to the White House statement, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation's highest civilian honor.
The award is presented to individuals who have made "exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors," as per White House statement.
Steve Jobs' Legacy is Recognized
The awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom will be presented at the White House on July 7, 2022.
The White House described Jobs as the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company.
"His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries," as per the White House statement.
Other notable awardees are Olympic-winning gymnast Simone Biles, retired Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Gold Star Father Khizr Khan, former US Senator John McCain (posthumous), former president of the AFL-CIO Richard Trumka (posthumous), and Denzel Washington.
According to Engadget, since the Presidential Medal of Freedom was established by President Kennedy in 1963, it has only been awarded 647 times. Of those who received the award, only 26 people have been awarded it "with distinction."
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The Life and Legacy of Steve Jobs
Steven Jobs was the co-founder, the chairman, and CEO of Apple.
Jobs was also the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar. He was a member of The Walt Disney Company's board of directors following its acquisition of Pixar. In addition, he was the founder, chairman, and CEO of NeXT.
Along with his early business partner and fellow Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Jobs is widely recognized as a pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s.
Jobs and Wozniak co-founded Apple in 1976. They sell Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. After a year, the duo gained fame and wealth with production and sale of the Apple II.
Jobs saw the commercial potential of the Xerox Alto in 1979. It was mouse-driven and had a graphical user interface (GUI). This led to the development of the unsuccessful Apple Lisa in 1983.
What followed was the breakthrough of Macintosh in 1984. It was the first mass-produced computer with a GUI.
After a long power struggle with the company's board and its then CEO John Sculley, Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985. Following the event, Jobs took a few Apple employees with him to found NeXT that same year.
Moreover, Jobs helped to develop the visual effects industry. He funded the computer graphics division of George Lucas's Lucasfilm in 1986. He co-founded Pixar, which produced the first 3D computer-animated feature film "Toy Story" (1995).
After Apple's acquisition of NeXT in 1997, Jobs returned to Apple as CEO. Apple at that time was at the verge of bankruptcy, and he was largely responsible for its revival.
After his return to Apple, he worked closely with English designer Jony Ive to develop a line of products that had larger cultural ramifications. It led to the creation of Apple Store, App Store, iMac, iPad, iPod, iPhone, iTunes, and iTunes Store.
In 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. He died on October 5, 2011 at the age of 56.
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