Eich Brendan

Brendan Eich, an American computer programmer and technology executive, is known for creating the JavaScript programming language.

Personal Stats

Age:	62
Source of wealth:	Computer science, product development
Residence:	USA
Citizenship:	USA
Marital status:	Unknown
Education:	Santa Clara University

Biography of Brendan Eich

Brendan Eich is an American computer programmer, the creator of the JavaScript programming language, which he developed in just ten days while working at Netscape Communications Corporation in 1995. JavaScript has since become one of the most widely used programming languages in the world.

Brendan Eich’ Education

Brendan Eich completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics and computer science at Santa Clara University, and in 1985, he obtained his master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Brendan Eich’s Career

Eich's career began at Silicon Graphics, where he dedicated seven years to developing operating system and network code. Following this, he spent three years at MicroUnity Systems Engineering, focusing on microkernel development and digital signal processors (DSP).

In April 1995, Eich joined Netscape Communications Corporation. It was here that he created JavaScript, a programming language that, along with HTML and CSS, forms the backbone of today's internet.

Eich developed the first version of this language, initially named Mocha, then LiveScript, and finally JavaScript in December 1995, in collaboration with Sun Microsystems. Eich's contributions at Netscape also included designing the first SpiderMonkey engine for the Navigator browser, written in C. This engine, was incorporated into the Mozilla project when it inherited Netscape's base code in 1998.

In early 1998, Eich, along with Jamie Zawinski and others, co-founded Mozilla, a free and open-source software project.
In August 2005, Eich, who had been serving as a lead technologist and board member of the Mozilla Foundation, became the chief technical officer of the Mozilla Corporation, the Foundation's for-profit arm. He maintained ownership of the Mozilla SpiderMonkey module until 2011, when he handed it over to Dave Mandolin.

Eich's appointment as CEO of Mozilla Corporation in March 2014 sparked controversy due to his past political donations, particularly a 2008 donation to California Proposition 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriage, and donations to Proposition 8 supporter Tom McClintock. This led to the resignation of half of Mozilla's board in protest, although only one member confirmed leaving specifically due to Eich's appointment. As a result, Eich resigned after just 11 days as CEO stating his inability to be an effective leader under the circumstances.

After Mozilla, Eich founded Brave Software, where he raised $2.5 million from investors such as Founders Fund, Foundation Capital, and Digital Currency Group. Brave is a free and open-source web browser that focuses on privacy and speed. Its main selling point is its ability to block ads and website trackers, which helps in protecting users' privacy and speeding up page loading times. Brave is built on the Chromium web engine, the same one that powers Google Chrome.

At Brave, Eich also co-created the Basic Attention Token (BAT), a cryptocurrency for the Brave browser. BAT's initial coin offering in May 2017 raised $35 million. BAT enables users to support their favorite content creators and websites, offering a privacy-focused alternative to traditional online advertising revenue. Eich continues to serve as the co-founder and CEO of Brave Software.

Brendan Eich’s Personal Life

Eich spent his childhood in Pittsburgh, Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Palo Alto. He was a student at Ellwood P. Cubberley High School, from which he graduated in 1979. Brendan Eich is married to Eleanor Eich with whom he has 5 children.

Brendan Eich’s Net Worth

According to some media, Eich's net worth is estimated to be around $1 billion, but this information is speculative and not confirmed by reliable sources.