Steve Jobs: A Life and Career in Photos

On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that co-founder Steve Jobs, 56, had died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Here is a look back at his life and revolutionary career.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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Steve Jobs: A Li... On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that co-founder Steve Jobs, 56, had died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Here is a look back at his life and revolutionary career.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
College Dropout Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955. The San Francisco native was adopted by a working-class couple and grew up in nearby Santa Clara, Calif. Jobs dropped out of Reed College when he could no longer afford tuition, but continued auditing classes.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Late 1970s In the late 1970s, Steve Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others, designed and developed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series.

(AP Photo/Sal Veder)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
1980s Jobs was one of the first to recognize the commercial potential of the mouse-driven graphical user interface -- this led to the creation of the Macintosh.

After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1984, Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in higher education and business markets.

In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He remained CEO and majority shareholder until its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company.

(AP Photo/Dick Drew)

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1990s Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to Apple, where he began to serve as CEO in 1997.

(AP Photo/Kristy Macdonald)

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2001 Just after the turn of the century, Jobs unveiled his newest project: the iBook. The new computer featured a battery life of 5 hours with built-in firewire, wireless communications and a 12.1-inch screen. Weighing just 4.9 pounds, this invention was a far cry from the first computers Jobs created.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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Early 2000s On October 23, 2001, the first iPod was introduced and claimed to put "1,000 songs in your pocket" with a 5 GB hard drive. The iPod has since changed the way we listen to music.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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2007 Jobs introduced the Apple iPhone at the MacWorld Conference and Expo in San Fransisco in January 2007. The iPhone's technology has greatly advanced since then, with rumors of an iPhone 5 swirling.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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2008 In September 2008, Jobs' doctors found that a hormonal imbalance had triggered his drastic weight loss. Speculation followed on the state of the CEO's health.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
2009 Jobs released a statement saying doctors had found a hormone imbalance in his body. He took a leave of absence through the end of June and then returned to work to announce the iPhone 3GS.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
2010 Jobs unveiled the iPad, which hit shelves in April and sold an estimated 14 million units. Shortly after, Jobs announced the launch of the iPhone 4.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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2011 In January, Jobs sent a letter to Apple employees announcing a leave of absence from the company. Apple COO Tim Cook was appointed to take care of Apple's day-to-day operations.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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2011 On August 24, 2011, Jobs announced his resignation as CEO of Apple in a letter to the board of directors. He recommended that COO Tim Cook be appointed to replace him and asked to stay on as a chairman.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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2011 On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that co-founder Steve Jobs, 56, had died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. A confirmation of his death was posted on Apple.com, reading: "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend, and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Evolution of App... See how Apple products have progressed over the years here.