Timeline: How Steve Jobs Transformed Technology

Steve Jobs transformed Apple from a niche computer company on the brink of bankruptcy into a worldwide phenonenom that ranks as one of the world's most valuable companies. (Photo Source: Reuters)

1976 -- Founds Apple Computer Company with Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Wayne sells his stake two weeks later. (Photo Source: Reuters)

1980 -- Apple goes public, share price jumps from $22 to $29 on the first day of trading.

1984 -- Apple launches Macintosh with a splashy ad campaign on Super Bowl Sunday.

1985 -- Jobs ousted from Apple after boardroom struggle with Sculley. Jobs resigns and takes five Apple employees with him. Founds Next Inc. to develop computer hardware and software. Company later renamed Next Computer Inc. (Photo Source: Reuters)

1986 -- Buys Pixar from George Lucas for less than $10 million. Company later renamed Pixar Animation Studios. (Photo Source: Reuters)

1997 -- Jobs becomes interim CEO and chairman of Apple Computer Inc. after Amelio is ousted. Jobs' salary is $1. (Photo Source: Reuters)

2001 -- Apple makes first foray into consumer electronics with launch of iPod, the portable MP3 player. (It sells more than 4.4 million iPods in fiscal 2004.) (Photo Source: Reuters)

2004 -- In August, Jobs is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and undergoes surgery. He recovers and returns to work in September, though his health would deteriorate over the coming years. (Photo Source: Reuters)

2007 -- Jobs announces the iPhone, one of the first smartphones without a keyboard, at Macworld Expo. (Reuters)

2009 -- In early January Jobs says his dramatic weight loss was caused by a hormone imbalance. He says the condition would not hinder his abilities to function as CEO. Around a week later Jobs says he will take a leave of absence from Apple until June because his medical condition had changed. He does not disclose his ailment. COO Tim Cook will handle Apple's day-to-day operations during Jobs' recovery period. Apple says Jobs will be involved with major strategic decisions. (Photo Source: Reuters)

January 2010 -- Apple announces the iPad tablet computer, which becomes an instant success and spawns a new category of mobile computing devices. (Reuters)

January 2011 -- Apple announces Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence, without specifying a reason for the leave or how long he'd be away. Questions are raised about the severity of Jobs' health problems, and its impact on the company's stock, product development and business operations. (Photo Source: Reuters)

August 2011 -- Jobs steps down as Apple's CEO, saying he can "no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO." Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook assumes the CEO title. Jobs remains at Apple as chairman of the board. (Photo Source: Reuters)

October 5, 2011 - Steve Jobs, the prolific chief executive widely seen as the visionary behind Apple's extraordinary rise from the brink of collapse to one of the world's most formidable technology companies, has died at the age of 56. (Apple.com)