Did you know? The world's most popular programming language started as a Christmas holiday hobby!
A Christmas hobby
In December 1989, Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum wanted something to work on over the Christmas holidays, so he started writing a new language as a hobby.
Not named after a snake!
Python was not named after the snake but after the British comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which he enjoyed.
From hobby to number one
Python was released in 1991, Python 2 in 2000 and Python 3 in 2008. IEEE Spectrum ranked it #1 in 2025, and GitHub reported it as the most popular language in 2024. It powers AI and data analysis through libraries like NumPy, pandas and PyTorch.
Summary
- Started December 1989 — a Christmas hobby
- Named after Monty Python
- Released 1991 · Python 3 in 2008
- #1 in IEEE Spectrum 2025
🎬 Watch the clip: TikTok @passiton2026 · Facebook
📚 Sources: python.org · Computer History Museum · IEEE Spectrum · GitHub Octoverse
