Brendan Eich
| Brendan Eich | |
|---|---|
| |
| Institutions | Netscape; Mozilla; Brave Software |
| Notable projects | JavaScript; Firefox; Brave Browser |
| Known for | Creator of JavaScript; co-founder of Mozilla; co-founder of Brave |
| Fields | Computer science; software engineering |
| Roles | Software engineer; technology executive |
| Positions | CEO, Brave Software |
| Designed | JavaScript (1995, Netscape) |
| Wikidata | Q92648 |
Brendan Eich (born July 4, 1961) is an American computer programmer and technology executive best known for creating the JavaScript programming language and co-founding the Mozilla and Brave browser projects. He designed JavaScript at Netscape in 1995, a language that allowed web pages to become interactive rather than static. Eich later helped launch the Mozilla project (the open-source effort behind Firefox) and served for many years as its chief architect and technical leader. In 2014 he briefly became CEO of Mozilla Corporation before stepping down amid controversy, and he subsequently co-founded Brave Software (the company behind the privacy-focused Brave browser and its accompanying cryptocurrency-based advertising system). Eich’s work has had a lasting impact on the web, though it has also drawn criticism at times for both technical decisions and his personal views.
Early Life and Education
Brendan Eich was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spent parts of his youth in Pittsburgh, Maryland, and California. He graduated high school in Palo Alto, California, and went on to study mathematics and computer science. Eich earned a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University and a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) in 1985. (A programming language is a formal system of instructions that a computer can execute, and computer scientists often study these languages in school; Eich’s education in math and computer science prepared him for a career in software development.) After graduate school, he worked at Silicon Graphics (SGI) for about seven years writing operating-system and network code – systems software that controls how a computer’s basic functions operate. He then spent a few years at MicroUnity, where he worked on microkernel and digital signal processing software (often used for handling specialized hardware tasks). These early jobs gave Eich broad experience in systems and performance programming.
Major Works and Ideas
In 1995 Eich joined Netscape Communications to create what became JavaScript. At that time, the web was built on HTML and had limited interactivity. Netscape wanted a lightweight, easy-to-use scripting language embedded in the browser, complementary to Java (another programming language popularized by Sun Microsystems). Eich later recalled that he intended to put the Scheme language (a dialect of Lisp known for its simplicity and first-class functions) into the browser, but managers insisted the syntax look more like Java to appeal to developers. The result was a brand-new language that combined Scheme-like features (first-class functions, meaning functions can be treated like any other data) and the object-oriented prototype model from languages like Self, wrapped in a Java-like style. Eich implemented this language in just about ten days to meet Netscape Navigator’s release schedule. It was first called Mocha, then briefly LiveScript, and finally renamed JavaScript in December 1995 (with Netscape and Sun Microsystems announcing the name change together). The initial JavaScript engine (the part of the browser that runs scripts) was called SpiderMonkey, written in the C language. SpiderMonkey allowed the new language to execute inside the Netscape Navigator browser, enabling web pages to react to user actions (for example, updating a page without reloading).
!Brendan Eich delivering a keynote speech in 2008 Brendan Eich speaking at a conference in 2008. (He created JavaScript at Netscape in 1995 and later helped found Mozilla.).
When Netscape’s browser code was later released as open-source and became the Mozilla project (around 1998), JavaScript and SpiderMonkey were included in that codebase. Eich co-founded the Mozilla project with others in 1998, creating the mozilla.org website to coordinate the open-source effort. He became Mozilla’s chief architect, working on browsers and related tools. In 2003, after AOL (then owner of Netscape) shut down its browser unit, Eich helped spin off the Mozilla Foundation as an independent nonprofit. In 2005 he became chief technology officer of the newly formed Mozilla Corporation (the for-profit arm of Mozilla that handles Firefox development). He continued to guide the development of SpiderMonkey and JavaScript standards during this time. SpiderMonkey was eventually handed off to another engineer (Dave Mandelin) around 2011, but Eich remained a key figure. In March 2014, Mozilla’s board appointed Eich as CEO. However, his political donations from 2008 (supporting California’s Proposition 8, which opposed same-sex marriage) sparked backlash. Eich apologized and resigned as CEO after only 11 days, feeling he could not effectively lead under the circumstances. He then left Mozilla to pursue new projects.
In 2015 Brendan Eich co-founded Brave Software, and he remains Brave’s CEO. Brave is a web browser built on the open-source Chromium code (the same core used by Google Chrome) but designed with privacy and new economic ideas in mind. It blocks ads and third-party tracking by default. Brave also introduced the Basic Attention Token (BAT), a cryptocurrency meant to improve online advertising: users can opt in to view privacy-preserving ads and earn BAT, which can be passed on to content creators. (A cryptocurrency is a digital currency secured by cryptography, often used in decentralized or blockchain-based systems.) Eich has said that Brave’s goal is to rethink how the web’s advertising model works, given that he recognizes JavaScript’s role in powering today’s ad-tracking ecosystem. Brave has attracted investment and uses blockchain technology to support aspects of its browser; as of mid-2025, Brave reported tens of millions of users worldwide.
Method and Design Philosophy
Eich’s approach to software and language design emphasized speed of development, developer familiarity, and incremental evolution. The ten-day creation of JavaScript exemplifies his pragmatic, deadline-driven method: he quickly built a prototype to demonstrate the concept. He has noted that technical constraints (such as management’s demand for Java-like syntax) shaped the outcome. Eich borrowed ideas from languages he admired – for example, using first-class functions from Scheme (meaning functions behave like any other value, able to be passed and manipulated) and prototype-based objects from Self – so that JavaScript would be both powerful and forgiving. He aimed for simplicity and broad accessibility: JavaScript had no verbose syntax or compile step in the browser (it was interpreted on-the-fly), so even programmers without deep computer science backgrounds could start using it. This philosophy carried into his later work at Mozilla and Brave. At Mozilla, Eich championed open-source collaboration (opening Netscape’s code so anyone could contribute) and helped guide standards for JavaScript (the language’s formal specification is known as ECMAScript, managed by an industry standards committee). At Brave, his philosophy extends to user privacy and decentralized technology; he has said Brave wants to use modern cryptographic tools (blockchain, zero-knowledge proofs, etc.) to solve problems he sees as inherent in the web’s current data-driven ad model.
Influence on Computing
Eich’s influence is vast because JavaScript became the foundation of modern web development. By inserting a flexible programming language directly into web pages, JavaScript transformed the internet. It enabled “dynamic” content that can change without reloading (like forms that update in place, interactive maps, or modern single-page applications). Virtually every web browser supports JavaScript, and billions of devices run it every day. This ubiquity means that Eich’s language design decisions affect countless websites, web apps, and server-side systems (Node.js allows JavaScript on servers, for example). In addition, Mozilla’s open-source browser projects helped popularize private and standards-based browsing, countering the dominance of Internet Explorer in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Firefox, derived from Mozilla’s work, pushed forward new web standards (like advanced CSS and JavaScript features) that all browsers later adopted. Eich’s later work on Brave has also been noted for bringing cryptocurrency and privacy ideas into mainstream web usage. Overall, he is widely recognized in the tech community – he has been profiled in technology media and business publications – as an innovator who changed how people interact with the web. In meetings and conferences, Eich often speaks about the internet’s trajectory; in 2025 he emphasized that the widespread use of JavaScript inadvertently powered today’s tracking-heavy advertising model, and he advocates using new cryptographic approaches to build a healthier ecosystem.
Critiques and Controversies
Eich’s work has not been without criticism. Technical critiques of JavaScript have emerged over the years. Early on, some developers viewed JavaScript as a “toy” or “novice” language (since it was easy to embed in web pages, unlike heavier languages of the time). This view was partly due to quirks in its original design: for instance, JavaScript initially had only a single thread of execution (no built-in concurrency model), and its type system was weak and implicit (leading to confusing behaviors for equality and conversions). Critics pointed out inconsistencies like how variables could be implicitly declared global or how some language operations behaved unexpectedly. Over time, many of these issues were addressed (with the addition of strict mode, block-scoped variables, classes, etc.), but some breed of programmers still cite JavaScript’s flexibility and historical warts. Eich’s personal design decisions, such as naming it “JavaScript” to ride on Java’s popularity, have also been debated (some say the name caused confusion and controversy, given the languages are otherwise unrelated).
Eich’s leadership roles have also drawn non-technical criticism. Most notably, the revelation of his 2008 political donations – pledging $1,000 to Proposition 8 (a California ballot measure aimed at banning same-sex marriage) – caused widespread backlash when he became Mozilla CEO in 2014. Many in the Mozilla community, and Mozilla employees themselves, opposed these views. Prominent venture backers resigned from Mozilla’s board in protest, and activists launched campaigns (for example, a dating website prominently warned Firefox users of Eich’s stance). Critics argued that his personal beliefs made him unsuitable to lead an organization focused on openness and inclusivity. Eich apologized and pledged to work with LGBT communities, but ultimately he stepped down as CEO after 11 days. Some commentators have since urged people to avoid software associated with Eich (including Brave) because of his past stance. Brave itself faced criticism on unrelated grounds: in 2016 it briefly included hidden referral links in its code (for example, adding an affiliate link to Amazon pages) which some saw as deceptive; Eich quickly removed those links and apologized when the issue was exposed. Overall, critics of Eich point either to long-term technical shortcomings of JavaScript or to his personal political actions as reasons to question his legacy. Supporters argue that one’s personal beliefs should be separate from technological contributions; detractors say leadership must account for public values.
Legacy
Despite controversies, Brendan Eich’s legacy in computing is secure. JavaScript is universally acknowledged as a core pillar of the modern internet; nearly every website relies on it for interactive features, and it has spawned billions of lines of code in business and consumer applications. Eich is often informally called the “father of JavaScript,” much as Tim Berners-Lee is called the father of the World Wide Web. In 2024, when JavaScript turned 25 years old, many development blogs and technology magazines celebrated Eich’s creation and its impact. His influence carries on through the language’s ongoing development (ECMAScript releases add features with input from companies and individuals on the standards committee, a group that Eich helped shape early on). In open-source circles, Mozilla’s project is remembered for reviving competition in web browsers and exemplifying collaborative development; Firefox’s lineage can be traced back to Eich’s early work. At Brave, Eich continues to push new ideas: he integrates web browsing with blockchain-based features (like Brave’s built-in crypto wallet and the Basic Attention Token), trying to address what he sees as the “toxic” advertising system that grew up with JavaScript. He remains an active figure at industry events. In sum, Eich’s legacy is twofold: a technical legacy in the form of JavaScript and web browser technology, and a cautionary note about how broader societal issues can intersect with technology leadership.
Selected Contributions:.
- JavaScript (1995): A client-side scripting language created for the web, originally called Mocha/LiveScript, delivering first-class functions and dynamic behavior to web pages.
- SpiderMonkey (1995): The first JavaScript engine (written in C) that ran inside Netscape and later Mozilla browsers.
- Mozilla (1998): Co-founder of the Mozilla open-source project and website (with Jamie Zawinski and others) to continue the development of Netscape’s code. Also helped form the Mozilla Foundation (2003) and Mozilla Corporation (2005), serving as chief architect and CTO.
- Brave Browser (2016): Co-founder of Brave Software and lead architect of the Brave web browser, which blocks ads/trackers by default and introduced the (ERC-20) Basic Attention Token cryptocurrency model for user-backed advertising.
Timeline:.
- 1961: Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 1982: Graduated Santa Clara University (B.A. in Math/CS).
- 1985: Master’s degree from University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign; begins career at Silicon Graphics (SGI).
- Mid-1990s: Works at MicroUnity; joins Netscape in April 1995 to develop a browser scripting language.
- 1995: Creates JavaScript and the SpiderMonkey engine for Netscape Navigator; first public demos in May. Navigator 2.0 (Sept. 1995) ships with the new scripting language. JavaScript becomes ECMAScript standard.
- 1998: Co-founds the Mozilla project (mozilla.org) to open-source Netscape’s browser code.
- 2005: Becomes CTO of Mozilla Corporation when it is formed to develop Firefox and related products.
- 2014: Serves 11 days as CEO of Mozilla, resigns amid controversy over past political donations.
- 2016: Launches Brave Browser after raising funding; introduces integrated ad-blocking and cryptocurrency (BAT). Continues as Brave’s CEO into the 2020s.