The cancer that has defeated him in 1983 to the exit from the very company forced, which he had founded together with Bill Gates, him last. For 35 years, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen always fought back against the disease. On Monday then All died after complications in the course of a lymphatic gland cancer. He was 65 years old.

Without All there would be today no Personal Computer, wrote Bill Gates in a statement on the death of his childhood friend. Has not exaggerated it.

at Least, PCs as we know them today, mostly with Windows operating system, would not give it without the computer pioneer.

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Bill Gates and Paul Allen had met at the posh Lakeside private school. They shared a then-rare enthusiasm for the Computer, should you later life connect. After graduation, the two went to Study in different universities. But All his studies broke down, wanted to write Software. His enthusiasm for the then-new technology went so far that he persuaded Bill Gates to follow him. The two founded Microsoft.

Microsoft’s first-team. Paul Allen is on the right at the bottom with a Beard.

The Rest is history: The company bought cheap the operating system 86-DOS to built it up a little, and licensed it as MS-DOS to IBM. The assembled PC versions have been a huge success, MS-DOS, the basis for the first Windows. Allen and Gates had created a money machine, which runs until today.

In his 2011-published memoir, “Idea Man” describes All of, among other things, that the Name Microsoft was his idea. It was obvious, finally, I want to a Software for small Computer develop. Most computers at the time were still room-filling multi-user Monster, the term Personal Computer did not exist.

the idea to make the PC mouse, with two buttons to the page, go back to him, he writes. Apple had learned at the time, the idea of a computer mouse from Xerox Lab, where a model with three keys in use. Apple’s variant, however, was reduced to a button. It was probably close to position Microsoft’s variant in between.

Microsoft mouse in 1983

Also, why he wanted to leave, the young company at the time, nevertheless, explained All in his book. In 1982, he announced Bill Gates in a letter. Over the years, the dispute about product and personnel decisions have removed the two friends further and further from each other and their “ability to work, destroyed the piece”. A little later, it was discovered a Tumor in the lymphatic system.

Shortly thereafter, Paul Allen got out of actually with Microsoft. His shares in the company but he kept – and that made him rich. The financial news portal “Bloomberg” prized assets last to 26.1 billion dollars, the equivalent of 22.5 billion Euro. The money he spent also for his personal luxury, such as for charitable purposes.

Allen’s yacht “Octopus”

he was Known, among other things, due to its super Octopus”, a 126-metre-long ship, the U-boat leads to the Dinghy and jet skis, even an eight-people-with yacht”. But not even the he had just for the fun of it. 2015 was looking for and he found the yacht the wreck of the “Musashi”, a 1944 Philippines sunken battle ship. In the same year, the yacht helped rescue the ship’s bell of the British world war II-the battle cruiser “HMS Hood”.

With all the money Paul Allen was fulfilled long-cherished dreams. The Science-Fiction Fan, and promoted the SETI project that searches for extraterrestrial life, by microscopes, the construction of a so-called radio interferometer, consisting of 350 tele, financially supported. At the beginning of the Millennium, he invested millions in the development of the space ship “Space Ship One” who overcame in 2004 for the first time successfully the threshold of the universe. Among his more earthly Investments, the basketball team Portland Trail Blazers and the football team Seattle Seahawks.

According to Paul Allen named Allen Telescope Array

Almost has donated by the way, but Paul Allen more than two billion dollars for non-profit organizations. One of his latest projects is the construction of a house is with 94 apartments for low-income families and the homeless in Seattle. The $ 46 million the cost of the installation, which is financed mainly from Allen’s assets.

This asset may, however, decrease drastically. Paul Allen has connected many years ago, the campaign by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and promised to donate half of his assets.

Paul Allen smashed at the inauguration of the Experience Music Project, a guitar made of glass.

Around 200 million of the avid collector has put, however, already years ago in one of his favorite projects, the Museum of Pop Culture that he built in the year 2000 as the Experience Music Project in Seattle. Originally, as a kind of Rock’n’Roll Museum, are planned, there is now also exhibitions about video Games, comic book heroes and Grunge Bands to see.

The not untalented hobby guitarist, this is likely to only have been right: