Photo: TariqueSani / CC BY-SA 2.5 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Alan Cox is exactly the sort of figure I admire most: someone who shaped the world without needing the spotlight. Born in Solihull in 1968 and educated at Aberystwyth, he became a key Linux developer, maintaining the 2.2 kernel branch in a collaboration dating back to 1991. His stage was never a screen; it was the code that quietly underpins the devices the rest of us take for granted. The 2004 Free Software award and a 2016 honorary degree are fitting nods. I think of him as a craftsman whose unseen handiwork sits beneath everything, and that kind of quiet importance deserves real respect.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Alan Cox
- Name (Japanese)
- アラン・コックス
- Reading
- あらん・こっくす
- Born
- July 22, 1968 (age 58)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Monkey
- Origin
- Solihull, United Kingdom
- Occupation
- programmer / blogger / computer scientist
2. Background
- University
- Aberystwyth University
Awards & achievements
- 2004 FSF Award for the Advancement of Free Software
- 2016 honorary degree
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Alan Cox born?
Born July 22, 1968 (age 58).
Where is Alan Cox from?
Alan Cox is from Solihull, United Kingdom.
What does Alan Cox do?
Alan Cox works as programmer, blogger, computer scientist.
Programmer — see all → · Blogger — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.