Macintosh Computer Day – January 24, 2025

History of Macintosh Computer Day

The Macintosh project began in 1979 when Jef Raskin, an Apple employee, proposed a user-friendly, cost-effective computer for the average consumer. He wanted to name the computer the McIntosh, after his favorite type of apple, but the spelling was changed to “Macintosh” for legal reasons. In September 1979, Raskin was permitted to start hiring for the project and he on-boarded his long-time colleague, Brian Howard. Later on, he would hire Steve Jobs as project lead, sealing the future of Apple computers in technological history.  However, in a 2013 interview, Steve Wozniak implied that he had led the initial design and development phase of the Macintosh project. He temporarily left the company after experiencing a traumatic airplane crash in 1981, at which point Jobs took over. In that same interview, Wozniak stated that the original Macintosh ‘failed’ under Jobs and that it was not until Jobs left that it became a success. He credited the Macintosh’s ultimate success to people like John Sculley “who worked to build a Macintosh market when the Apple II went away.” Reaching a 300 million valuation almost overnight, Apple became the fastest-growing company in U.S. history. With over 50 companies salivating for a bite of the Apple, one company stood out above the rest — IBM. And so began one of the most ruthless rivalries in corporate history as many promising competitors drastically fell by the wayside.

Macintosh continued in a formidable battle against IBM, but decades later Apple would take over the industry with the introduction of iPhones and iMacs in one of the biggest and longest emerging comebacks in the history of any industry.