Unix
A multitasking, multi-user operating system begun in 1969 at Bell Labs and rewritten in C in 1973.
Development of Unix began in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center. Researchers who were frustrated by the size and complexity of Multics started it. AT&T licensed Unix to outside parties in the late 1970s.
Early versions ran on computers such as the PDP-11 and the VAX. Unix was the first portable operating system, because almost all of it was written in the C programming language in 1973.
Why it matters
Unix led to many academic and commercial variants and later to free Unix-like systems on home computers.
Key facts
- Development began in 1969 at Bell Labs.
- Grew out of frustration with Multics.
- Rewritten in C in 1973.
- Early versions ran on the PDP-11 and VAX.
- AT&T licensed it to outside parties in the late 1970s.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Unix", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix, accessed October 14, 2026.
- Wikipedia, "Bell Labs", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs, background reading, accessed October 14, 2026.