Aaron Swartz

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Swartz in January 2012

Aaron Hillel Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, writer, political organizer, and Internet activist who also helped inventing the first version of RSS. He was arrested in January 6, 2011 and charged with illegally downloading files from JSTOR.[1] Swartz committed suicide in January 11, 2013.[1]

Early life and career[change | change source]

Swartz was born on November 8, 1986 in Chicago, Illinois. Swartz left high school in the 10th grade. He studied at Stanford University. In 2008 Swartz started Watchdog.net, "the good government site with teeth". In 2009 he helped start the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. In 2010 Swartz started Demand Progress.

Death[change | change source]

Swartz committed suicide by hanging himself in his apartment in Brooklyn, New York City, aged 26.[2] Speaking at his son's funeral, Robert Swartz said, "[Aaron] was killed by the government, and MIT betrayed all of its basic principles".[3]

Swartz was given a place in the Internet Hall of Fame in June 2013.[4]

A documentary about Swartz called The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz was released in 2014.

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sims, Nancy (October 2011). "Library licensing and criminal law: The Aaron Swartz case". College & Research Libraries News. 72 (9). Association of College and Research Libraries: 534–537. doi:10.5860/crln.72.9.8637. ISSN 0099-0086. Retrieved January 13, 2013. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "crln" defined multiple times with different content
  2. Cai, Anne (January 12, 2013). "Aaron Swartz commits suicide". The Tech. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  3. "Internet Hall of Fame Announces 2013 Inductees". June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on August 24, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014. Innovators – Recognizing individuals who made outstanding technological, commercial, or policy advances and helped to expand the Internet's reach: Marc Andreessen, John Perry Barlow, Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder, François Flückiger, Stephen Kent, Henning Schulzrinne, Richard Stallman, Aaron Swartz (posthumous), Jimmy Wales
  4. Sandra Guy (January 15, 2013). "Internet Hall of Fame Announces 2013 Inductees". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013.

Other websites[change | change source]