Photo: Joi Ito / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Few people my generation altered culture as abruptly as Shawn Fanning. A teenager from Brockton, Massachusetts, he built Napster in 1999 and effectively rewrote how the world thought about music, ownership, and the internet itself. The legal firestorm was enormous, but I've always seen the peer-to-peer idea as the genuine ancestor of today's streaming economy. That Time magazine cover was earned. What I admire most is that he didn't fade into one-hit-wonder territory; his later turn as an entrepreneur and angel investor shows a builder's instinct that outlasted the controversy that made him famous.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Shawn Fanning
- Name (Japanese)
- ショーン・ファニング
- Reading
- しょーん・ふぁにんぐ
- Born
- November 22, 1980 (age 45)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Monkey
- Origin
- Brockton, Massachusetts, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Internet entrepreneur / programmer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Harwich High School
- University
- Northeastern University
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Shawn Fanning born?
Born November 22, 1980 (age 45).
Where is Shawn Fanning from?
Shawn Fanning is from Brockton, Massachusetts, United States.
What does Shawn Fanning do?
Shawn Fanning works as Internet entrepreneur, programmer.
Programmer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
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.