William Henry Gates III, known as Bill Gates, was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. Gates developed an early interest in computing and programming, attending Lakeside School where he met his future business partner, Paul Allen. In 1975, Gates and Allen co-founded Microsoft, which became the world’s largest personal-computer software company. Gates’ vision and leadership were instrumental in Microsoft’s success, with products like MS-DOS and Windows revolutionizing the computer industry.