The original Microsoft employees on December 7, 1978, shortly before the relocation to Bellevue, Washington.
The following is a list of early employees from Microsoft. It mostly contains the early employees from the company's founding in 1975 to when they hired their 100th employee in 1981.
Microsoft originally was formed as the "Micro-Soft" partnership by Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Monte Davidoff in February 1975 to work together to develop and sell the Altair BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800, it's development spanned from February to May of that year to demonstrate the product at MITS in June 1975. During the development of the interpreter, the partnership was formally incorporated as a company on April 4, 1975.
From April 4, 1975, to January 1, 1979, Microsoft was originally based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. These original employees are designated as the "Micro-Soft" era, due to the company using that name simultaneously at the time of its existence.
On January 1, 1979, Microsoft moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Washington. Any employees hired after this date are only listed based on their notability and recognition by the company and the general public.
"Micro-Soft" era employees (1975-1979)[]
When the company was incorporated in 1975, there were only three employees (excluding Monte Davidoff during the partnership): Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Ric Weiland.
In 1976, the company hired seven full-time employees, with two more joining by the following year.
It should be noted that over the years, there was a common misconception that there were only eleven or twelve employees. The actual number was thirteen in 1978, which is primarily because during the December 7, 1978 photoshoot, two employees were not present at the time: Ric Weiland and Miriam Lubow.
Notes[]
- Though the co-founders were employees, Bill Gates and Paul Allen never officially assigned nor considered themselves employees "1" or "2".
- Ric Weiland is confirmed as the first hired employee after Microsoft was incorporated in 1975. This is often confused with Marc McDonald, who was hired in April 1976, a year later. Nonetheless, he still got badge ID #1 since he remained with the company for a bit longer and was more notable since this was further advocated by Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer upon his return in December 2000.
- On June 25, 1981, the company restructured; therefore, Bill and Paul were assigned additional positions because of the plans. Both are now on the board of directors.
| Still with Microsoft | No longer with Microsoft | Deceased |
| Employee Photo | Name | Order of hire/badge No. | Hiring Date | Resignation Date | Description/Note |
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Bill Gates |
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Paul Allen |
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Monte Davidoff |
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Ric Weiland |
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Marc McDonald |
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Steve Wood |
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Marla Wood |
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Miriam Lubow |
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Bob O'Rear |
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Bob Greenberg |
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Bob Wallace |
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Andrea Lewis |
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Gordon Letwin |
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Jim Lane |
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As of 2022, nine of the original thirteen employees were still alive, with one still working at the company.
"Microsoft" era employees (1979-1981)[]
TBA work in progress. To be written further at a later date.
Gallery[]
(Front side)
(Back side)
