Photo: Mika Matsuzaki Original uploader was Mattl at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Benjamin Mako Hill is the kind of figure who shapes the tools millions of us use without most people ever knowing his name. As a free software activist and developer woven into Debian and Ubuntu, plus the author of multiple technical manuals, he turned open collaboration into both craft and creed. What interests me is the blend of engineer and writer, someone equally comfortable shipping code and explaining why software freedom matters. The Hampshire and MIT background underlines a mind that takes ideas seriously. In a tech world obsessed with valuations, his commitment to shared knowledge over personal fortune feels quietly radical, and I respect it enormously.
Overview
Benjamin Mako Hill (/ˈbɛndʒəmɪn ˈmeɪkoʊ hɪl/) is a free software activist, hacker, author, and professor. He is a contributor and free software developer as part of the Debian and Ubuntu projects as well as the co-author of three technical manuals on the subject, Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible, The Official Ubuntu Server Book, and The Official Ubuntu Book.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Benjamin Mako Hill
- Name (Japanese)
- ベンジャミン・マコ・ヒル
- Reading
- べんじゃみん・まこ・ひる
- Born
- December 2, 1980 (age 45)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Monkey
- Origin
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- assistant professor / engineer / non-fiction writer / computer scientist / researcher
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Hampshire College
Awards & achievements
- 2007 SPARC Innovator Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Engineer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.