Guido van Rossum
Guido van Rossum, born in the Netherlands in 1956, began creating Python in 1989 and released it publicly in 1991. He designed it around readability and a gentle learning curve, and it has since become one of the most widely used languages in the world — for web development (including this very site), data science, scientific computing, and modern AI.
For nearly three decades he led Python's development as its 'Benevolent Dictator For Life' (BDFL), personally settling major design decisions, before stepping back from that role in 2018. Over his career he has worked at organizations including Google, Dropbox, and Microsoft.
The language's name has nothing to do with snakes: van Rossum named it after the British comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus, and that playful streak still shows up throughout Python's documentation and culture.