Who founded the Free Software Foundation in 1985?

The Free Software Foundation (Review), a pivotal organization in the world of computing, was established in 1985 by Richard Stallman. His motivation stemmed from a growing concern over the increasing prevalence of proprietary software in the early 1980s. Stallman, then working at MIT, observed how restrictive licenses on software stifled collaboration and innovation, limiting users' freedom to study, modify, and share the code that ran their computers. He believed that software should be freely available, much like ideas in academia, to foster a cooperative and open environment.

To counter this trend, Stallman launched the GNU Project in 1983, aiming to create a complete Unix-like operating system composed entirely of "free software" – free in the sense of liberty, not necessarily cost. The Free Software Foundation was then incorporated in October 1985 to provide organizational and financial support for the GNU Project and to champion the broader free software movement. The FSF's mission was, and continues to be, to promote computer user freedom and advocate for software that respects fundamental user rights.

A cornerstone of the FSF's work is the development and stewardship of free software licenses, most notably the GNU General Public License (GPL). The GPL introduced the concept of "copyleft," a clever legal mechanism that uses copyright law to ensure that software, once made free, remains free for all its users and any derivative works. This means anyone can run, study, share, and improve the software, provided they also distribute their modifications under the same free terms. This innovative approach has had a profound impact, empowering countless developers and users and laying the groundwork for much of the open-source software we use today.