Guido van Rossum begins Python development

During his Christmas break, Guido van Rossum started work on a new scripting language, as a successor to the ABC language and to bridge the gap in the Amoeba distributed operating system project.

Significance

This marked the very inception of Python, driven by a personal need for a better, more readable, and extensible scripting language.

Key facts

Date
1989-12-01
Type
invention
Location
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), Amsterdam, Netherlands