35 years ago today, Linus Torvalds made a Usenet post that introduced Linux to the world

Published Aug 25, 2026, 3:07 AM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary On August 25th, 1991, Linus Torvalds announced Linux on Usenet as "just a hobby." It was released on September 17th, 1991, growing from a hobby into an open-source powerhouse. Inspired by Minix, Linux sparked an OS revolution; now Torvalds faces an AI-focused chapter of his work. Sometimes, if we're really lucky, we get to see the exact moment a huge part of our lives first got its legs. The good news is, if something started on the internet, there's a very good chance we have it logged somewhere. Such is the case with the Usenet post that Linus Torvalds made to announce the existence of Linux, and 35 years later to the day, the "just a hobby" OS would become a powerful force in the open-source world. Linus Torvalds first revealed Linux's existence on August 25th, 1991 It has been 35 years since the post was made The post, authored under the full name of Linus Benedict Torvalds, appeared on the comp.os.minix Usenet back in 1991. A 21-year-old Torvalds had been tinkering with a Minix computer, an operating system released back in 1987. Minix's main goal was to teach students how an operating system worked, and Torvalds drew inspiration from it to the point where he set out to make his own. In the post on comp.os.minix, Torvalds set out what he wanted to build: "I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things)." It's very funny looking back at this post and seeing the biggest, most successful open-source operating system described as "just a hobby" and as not being "big and professional like GNU." Honestly, if I were a 21-year-old announcing a new OS in a forum post, I'd also baulk at the idea of it powering millions of PCs 35 years in the future, so I'll definitely cut Torvalds some slack there. The world didn't have to wait long for Linux to be released; it came out just shy of a month later, on September 17th, 1991, and thus began the OS revolution we know and love today. But the story is by no means over; in fact, we're currently in the middle of an interesting Torvalds AI arc.