Red Hat corporate timeline

1991: Linus Torvalds releases the Linux kernel. Bob Young introduced to free software and UNIX by the system administrators of the New York City UNIX Users Group (Unigroup).

1993: Young incorporates ACC Corporation, a catalog business that sells Linux and Unix software accessories and books and distributes a magazine called New York UNIX

1995: Young buys Ewing's business, merges it with ACC Corporation, and names the new company Red Hat Software.

1996: Red Hat opens sales and administration functions to North Carolina, opens corporate headquarters in Durham.

1997: The Red Hat training model and the term "Red Hat Certified Engineer" are first developed as the benchmark for technical skills required of Red Hat Support Partners worldwide.

1998: The term "Open Source" is coined in Palo Alto, Calif.

1999: Red Hat goes public in August. Red Hat co-founder Bob Young steps aside in November, ushering in his successor Matthew Szulik. The company also acquired Cygnus, creating the largest open source company in the world.

2000: In February, the IDC reports that Linux captured 25 percent of the server operating system shipment market in 1999. Red Hat and Dell create the One Source Alliance in July. That fall, the Red Hat Network launches.

2001: In January, Linus Torvalds released the highly-anticipated 2.4 Linux kernel. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer calls Linux a "cancer" and an "intellectual property destroyer," and calls Linux the biggest threat to Microsoft.

2002: Red Hat moves headquarters to Centennial Campus in Raleigh. They also open a R&D facility in Westford, Mass.

2003: Red Hat launches Red Hat Academy. In the fall, Red Hat turned 10 and acquired Sistina Software.

2004: Red Hat raised $600 million through a bond offering. Red Hat acquired AOL's Netscape server software for about $25 million in cash in September, and in November, opens its first office in China, in the capital city of Beijing.

2005: Bob Young steps down from board of directors. Red Hat and HP debut the industry-first open source blade bundle.

2006: Red Hat acquired JBoss in April and continues global expansion with Red Hat Argentina and Red Hat Brazil through the summer before completing acquisition of Jboss. In September, Red Hat launches integrated Linux-JBoss software stack and is ranked No. 29 on Fortune's list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. Red Hat lists its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol RHT; Matthew Szulik rings NYSE opening bell.

2007: Jim Whitehurst named Red Hat President and CEO; Matthew Szulik remains as Red Hat Chairman.

2008: Red Hat announced settlement of patent litigation involving Firestart Software and DataTern that includes broad protections for the open source community. Red Hat announces acquisition of Identyx code base and Qumranet, Inc.

2009: Red Hat selected for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index. Red Hat and Microsoft complete testing and validation for the companies' corresponding virtualization platforms; Matthew Szulik retired at 53. (Read LTW’s interview with Szulik)

2010: Hugh Shelton was named the new chairman at Red Hat in August. In December, the company acquired Makara.

2011: Red Hat announced in January that is will keep its corporate headquarters in Wake County and add more than 500 jobs in the next five years. The company received close to $15 million in incentives from the state.