John Warnock, Co-Founder of Adobe Systems and Creator of the PDF, Dies at 82
Adobe announced on Monday that Dr. John Warnock passed away on Saturday at the age of 82.
The world of technology lost a titan over the weekend, as Dr. John Warnock passed away on Saturday. Warnock co-founded Adobe Systems and helped create the PDF, transforming the way we view and exchange documents forever. On Monday, Adobe announced the passing of Warnock, saying that the innovator and scientist was surrounded by family and friends when he passed at the age of 82. No cause of death was given.
Warnock worked for Xerox in the early 1980s but ultimately left the company and helped start Adobe with Charles Geschke. His work with Adobe eventually led to him creating the Portable Document Format, or PDF.
Adobe Chair and CEO Shantanu Narayen sent an email to all Adobe employees on Monday announcing Warnock's passing.
"It is with profound sadness that I share that our beloved co-founder Dr. John Warnock passed away at the age of 82," Narayen wrote. "John's brilliance and technology innovations changed the world. It is a sad day for the Adobe community and the industry for which he has been an inspiration for decades."
Narayen's letter goes on to share some of Warnock's accolades, as well as some words about what he meant to the company he founded back in 1982.
"John has been widely acknowledged as one of the greatest inventors in our generation with significant impact on how we communicate in words, images and videos," reads the letter. "Among many other awards, President Barack Obama awarded him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, one of the nation's highest honors bestowed on scientists, engineers and inventors, in 2008; he received the Computer Entrepreneur Award from the IEEE Computer Society; the American Electronics Association Medal of Achievement; and the high honor of the Marconi Prize for contributions to information science and communications. John retired as CEO in 2000 and he was chairman of the board, a position he shared with Chuck, until 2017. Since then, he continued to serve on the Board of Directors."
You can read the full release from Adobe here.
Warnock is survived by his wife, Marva Warnock, and their three children.
