John Warnock, Adobe co-founder and inventor of PDF, dies aged 82
John Warnock, a co-founder of Adobe who invented the PDF, has died. He was 82.
Widely known for creating the pioneering technology – in full, the portable document format – that changed the way documents are shared and printed, Warnock died on 19 August, Adobe said.
“John’s brilliance and technology innovations changed the world,” Adobe said. “It is a sad day for the Adobe community and the industry for which he has been an inspiration for decades.”
The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, the New York Times reported.
Warnock and Charles Geschke, who died in 2021, founded Adobe in 1982 after working together at Xerox, which they left after it passed on their idea about how to send documents between a printer and a computer, the Times reported.
Nearly 10 years later, Warnock began working on an early version of the PDF, eventually finding a way to transfer files digitally while the document stayed intact, the Associated
Press said. Warnock became widely recognized for revolutionizing printing and document transfer, winning numerous awards.
In 2009, Warnock and Geschke were awarded the National Medal of
Technology and Innovation, by Barack Obama. The award is the highest US honor for technological innovation and achievement.
Warnock was chief executive of Adobe until 2000, Reuters reported. He was co-chairman of the board, with Geschke, until 2017.
Warnock was born in Holladay, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. In interviews, he admitted to having been a “mediocre” student who failed algebra in his first year of high school.
He said in a 2013 interview for the University of Utah alumni magazine, Continuum: “I had an amazing teacher in high school who, essentially, completely turned me around. He was really good at getting you to love mathematics, and that’s when I got into it.”
Warnock studied math as an undergraduate at the University of Utah, AP reported. He later completed a PhD in electrical engineering, from the same school.
Warnock is survived by his wife, Marva Mullins, three children and four grandchildren.