President Joe Biden has included Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple and its CEO until his untimely death in 2011, in the list of 17 recipients of Presidential Medal of Freedom who will be presented with the awards at the White House on July 7, 2022.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, is the highest US honor that can be given to a civilian. It is presented to:

“individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors".

In 2016 Grace Hopper and Margaret Hamilton were among 21 individuals in President Obama's final cohort of awardees of this honor chosen for their enduring inspiration. 

According to the White House statement about the latest list of recipients:

President Biden has long said that America can be defined by one word: possibilities. These seventeen Americans demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith. They have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world – while blazing trails for generations to come.

The citation in respect of Steve Jobs reads:

Steve Jobs (d. 2011) was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company. His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries.

Jobs was born into the California of the mid fifties and was exposed to the revolution in thought, tastes and freedoms of the 60s. He was in his teens at the time of garage startups. There was a lot of money to be made from electronics and all you needed was skill and the desire to work hard. The Apple computer was a success due to Steve Wozniak's grasp of the technology and Steve Job's talent as an entrepreneur. The Apple company was founded in 1976 but less than a decade later Jobs was forced out  after a long power struggle with the company's board. Taking a few Apple employees with him, his next company was NeXT to design a machine specifically aimed at science and education and, in a twist of fate NeXT, was bought by Apple in 1997 and he was once again the CEO of the company.

Steve Jobs in 2010 with the iPhone 4

Jobs introduced the iPhone to the world in 2007 and we entered the era of the smartphone.  While there have been successive generations of the iPhone it is still true to Jobs' original concept and Jobs is rightly regarded as pioneering the smartphone revolution that has had a transformational impact, which is now being recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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