How Linux Began and Origins of Linux

Linux got its start at the University of Helsinki, Finland in 1991 by a student named Linus Torvalds. Linus wanted a free (as in freedom) operating system, but at the time none were readily available. So he started to create his own kernel based on UNIX, and specifically MINIX. With help from contributors across the globe Linus was able to complete the kernel, but Linux still needed the tools to be usable for the end-user. During the same time, across the ocean, GNU was being developed for much of the same reason as Linux. It just so happened that GNU was a set of end-user programs that needed a kernel.