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In December 1989, during a Christmas holiday in Amsterdam, a Dutch programmer named Guido van Rossum created what would become one of the world’s most influential programming languages. Who developed Python? The answer is simple but the story behind it is fascinating.
Guido van Rossum single-handedly developed Python as a successor to the ABC programming language, addressing its limitations while preserving its user-friendly approach. What began as a holiday project eventually transformed the landscape of programming, data science, artificial intelligence, and web development worldwide.
Unlike many programming languages developed by committees or large corporations, Python was initially the creation of a single mind with a clear vision: to make programming accessible, readable, and enjoyable.
Before understanding Python, it’s essential to know about the man who developed Python. Born on January 31, 1956, in Haarlem, Netherlands, Guido van Rossum obtained his master’s degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Amsterdam in 1982.
Before developing Python, van Rossum worked at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands, where he contributed to the ABC programming language—a teaching language that would heavily influence his design of Python.
Van Rossum’s career trajectory after creating Python included positions at:
In each role, he continued to guide Python’s development while applying it to real-world problems. His practical experience with the language he created gave him unique insights into how to evolve Python to meet the needs of a growing and diverse community of users.
When exploring who developed Python, it’s crucial to understand the context of its creation. In the late 1980s, van Rossum was working on the Amoeba distributed operating system. He needed a scripting language with ABC’s accessibility but with better access to system calls. Finding nothing suitable, he decided to create his own.
The development process followed these key principles:
Van Rossum developed Python’s initial version in just a few weeks during his Christmas break, implementing a simple virtual machine, a parser, and a small set of built-in types and functions. This foundation embodied his vision for an elegant, accessible programming language.
What makes Python’s development story unique is how much of its initial design has stood the test of time. The core principles that guided who developed Python—Guido van Rossum—remain central to the language today, even as it has evolved through multiple major versions.
Contrary to what many assume, Python wasn’t named after the snake. When deciding what to call his new creation, Guido van Rossum, who developed Python, chose the name as a tribute to the British comedy group “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” As an avid fan of their humor, van Rossum wanted a name that was short, unique, and slightly mysterious.
This naming choice reflected van Rossum’s desire for programming to be fun and approachable. The Monty Python connection introduced an element of playfulness that continues in Python’s culture today—from documentation examples featuring spam and eggs (referencing the famous Monty Python sketch) to the terms used in the community.
The name has become so iconic that many forget it wasn’t originally connected to the reptile at all, though the snake imagery has since been embraced in Python’s logos and visual identity.
Understanding who developed Python also means recognizing the language’s evolution over more than three decades:
| Version | Release Year | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Python 0.9.0 | 1991 | First public release, including classes with inheritance, exception handling, functions, and core data types |
| Python 1.0 | 1994 | Added functional programming tools like lambda, map, filter, and reduce |
| Python 2.0 | 2000 | List comprehensions, garbage collection system, Unicode support |
| Python 3.0 | 2008 | Major revision focused on removing duplicative constructs and modules |
| Python 3.6 | 2016 | Formatted string literals, type annotations, async generators |
| Python 3.9 | 2020 | Dictionary merge operators, flexible function decorators |
| Python 3.11 | 2022 | Enhanced error messages, faster performance, exception groups |
Each of these milestones represents significant community input, but Guido van Rossum’s influence as the person who developed Python guided the language’s evolution, ensuring it maintained its philosophical consistency while adapting to changing needs.
When examining who developed Python, it’s impossible to separate the language from van Rossum’s philosophical approach to programming. This philosophy is captured in “The Zen of Python,” a collection of 19 principles that can be accessed by typing import this in a Python interpreter.
Some of the most significant principles include:
These principles weren’t arbitrary preferences of the person who developed Python; they were carefully considered guidelines based on van Rossum’s extensive programming experience. They emphasize clarity, simplicity, and practicality—values that have contributed significantly to Python’s widespread adoption.
The philosophy behind Python directly contrasts with languages that prioritize flexibility over consistency or performance over readability. Van Rossum believed that programmer time was more valuable than computer time, and this human-centered approach influenced every aspect of Python’s design.
As Python grew, the question of who developed Python expanded beyond just van Rossum. In 2001, the Python Software Foundation (PSF) was established to:
The creation of the PSF marked a significant transition as Python’s governance became more formalized and community-oriented. While Guido van Rossum remained the language’s principal author and decision-maker, the PSF provided an organizational structure that ensured Python would outlive any single contributor.
This transition demonstrated van Rossum’s commitment to Python as a community-driven project rather than a personal endeavor. The PSF continues to play a crucial role in Python’s development, organizing conferences, supporting education initiatives, and funding improvements to the language and its ecosystem.
For most of Python’s history, Guido van Rossum served as what the community affectionately called the “Benevolent Dictator For Life” (BDFL). This title acknowledged that while Python had a growing community of contributors, van Rossum retained final decision-making authority on the language’s design and evolution.
This governance model provided several advantages:
The BDFL model reflected the reality that nobody understood Python’s design principles better than the person who developed Python originally. Van Rossum exercised this authority judiciously, often accepting community proposals that aligned with Python’s philosophy while rejecting those that didn’t—regardless of their technical merits.
In July 2018, after almost 30 years as Python’s creator and leader, Guido van Rossum announced his retirement from the role of BDFL. This decision came after a particularly contentious debate over a Python Enhancement Proposal (PEP 572) regarding assignment expressions.
In his retirement announcement, van Rossum wrote: “Now that PEP 572 is done, I don’t ever want to have to fight so hard for a PEP and find that so many people despise my decisions.”
This transition raised important questions about who would guide Python’s development in the future. The community responded by establishing a Steering Council model, where elected representatives make decisions about the language’s direction.
Van Rossum’s retirement marked a new chapter in Python’s governance, demonstrating that the language had matured beyond depending on a single leader. The person who developed Python had successfully built not just a programming language but a self-sustaining community capable of continuing his vision.
Even after stepping down as BDFL, van Rossum remained active in the Python community until his official retirement from coding in 2020, after joining Microsoft. In 2022, he came out of retirement to serve as a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft.
The story of who developed Python extends far beyond one person as the language has grown to impact virtually every area of computing:
Python’s influence is difficult to overstate. According to the TIOBE Index and other measures of programming language popularity, Python consistently ranks among the top three programming languages globally. The accessibility and versatility championed by the person who developed Python have made it a language of choice for beginners and experts alike.
This global impact is perhaps the greatest testament to van Rossum’s vision. What began as a holiday project has transformed how millions of people interact with technology, solve problems, and learn programming concepts.
Knowing who developed Python and understanding van Rossum’s philosophy provides crucial context for Python programmers. The design decisions that shape your daily experience with Python weren’t arbitrary—they stemmed from a coherent vision of what programming could and should be.
For beginners learning Python, recognizing that the language was designed to be accessible can provide encouragement. Python’s readability isn’t accidental; it’s the result of careful decisions by someone who valued making programming more approachable.
For experienced developers, understanding Python’s philosophical foundations helps explain why certain features exist while others don’t. It also provides insight into how to write “Pythonic” code—code that aligns with the intentions of the person who developed Python.
Who is the original developer of Python?
Guido van Rossum is the original developer of Python. He created the language during a Christmas holiday in December 1989 while working at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands.
Why did Guido van Rossum create Python?
Van Rossum created Python as a successor to the ABC programming language, addressing its limitations while preserving its focus on readability and simplicity. He needed a language with better access to system calls for his work on the Amoeba distributed operating system.
Is Python named after a snake?
No, Python is named after the British comedy show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” not the snake. Guido van Rossum was a fan of the show and chose the name to be short, unique, and slightly mysterious.
When was Python first released?
Python was first publicly released as version 0.9.0 in February 1991, about a year after van Rossum began its development. The first official version 1.0 was released in January 1994.
Is Guido van Rossum still involved with Python?
While Guido van Rossum stepped down as the “Benevolent Dictator For Life” (BDFL) in July 2018, he remained involved with Python’s development as a regular core developer until October 2019. After briefly retiring, he joined Microsoft in 2020 where he continues to have some involvement with Python.
What programming languages influenced Python’s design?
Python was influenced by several languages, including ABC, Modula-3, C, C++, Algol-68, SmallTalk, and Unix shell. ABC was particularly influential, as van Rossum had worked on its implementation and aimed to address its limitations.
The story of who developed Python is more than just a historical footnote—it’s a window into why one of the world’s most popular programming languages works the way it does. Guido van Rossum’s vision of a readable, accessible language has transformed programming education, scientific computing, web development, and countless other fields.
As Python continues to evolve under community governance, the principles established by its original creator remain at its core. The language’s success stands as a testament to van Rossum’s insight that programming languages should be designed with human readers in mind, not just computers.
Whether you’re just beginning your programming journey or are an experienced developer, understanding who developed Python and why helps you appreciate the thoughtfulness behind the tools you use every day. In a very real sense, when you write Python code, you’re participating in the continuation of van Rossum’s original vision from that Christmas holiday in 1989.
If you’re interested in learning Python programming, check out our introduction to block coding for kids and how to build a chatbot in Python guides to get started on your coding journey.
Are you interested in learning more about Python programming? Explore our other Python tutorials and resources on ItsmyBot to take your coding skills to the next level!
