The PDF is ubiquitous — such a workhorse of modern life that you might not often think about its origin story or how remarkable it is. It’s only been since 1992 that you could create a document with any application and convert it to into a “Portable Document Format” viewable and printable from any computer, with the graphics and text still intact.
The concept came from Adobe, which was co-founded by long-time research partners Dr. John Warnock and Dr. Charles Geschke in 1982. Born Sept. 11, 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio, Geschke’s family roots were in publishing; his father and paternal grandfather were both letterpress photo engravers.
From PARC to Adobe
After finishing his PhD in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in 1972, Geschke moved to Los Altos, California, and began working at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). While there, he hired Warnock as chief scientist in 1978. Together, they developed the Interpress page description language. They left PARC after Xerox decided not to commercialize Interpess and founded Adobe in December 1982, naming the company after a creek behind Warnock’s house.
Interpress evolved into PostScript, which revolutionized desktop printing. PostScript caught the attention of Steve Jobs, who invested in Adobe in 1983 and licensed the software for Apple’s LaserWriter. This led to the introduction of Adobe Illustrator in 1987 and Photoshop in 1988. The PDF came about through Adobe’s Camelot Project, described in this PDF written by Warnock.
A career that shaped digital publishing
Geshcke served as chief operating officer of Adobe from December 1986 to July 1994 and president from April 1989 until retirement in April 2000. He was chairman of the Adobe board with Warnock from September 1997 to January 2017. He then continued as a board member until April 2020.
In a disturbing chapter of his life, Geschke was kidnapped from the Adobe parking lot in Mountain View in 1992.
In 2008, President Barack Obama awarded Geschke and Warnock the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Geschke passed away April 16, 2021.
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Photo: MAFPHOTOART8 / Shutterstock
