Eich started work at Netscape Communications Corporation in April 1995. He originally joined intending to put Scheme "in the browser",[5] but his Netscape managers insisted that the language's syntax resemble that of Java. As a result, Eich devised a language that had much of the functionality of Scheme, the object-orientation of Self, and the syntax of Java. He completed the first version in ten days in order to accommodate the Navigator 2.0 Beta release schedule.[5][6] At first the language was called Mocha, but it was renamed LiveScript in September 1995 and finally – in a joint announcement with Sun Microsystems – it was named JavaScript in December.[7][8] Simultaneously, he designed the first SpiderMonkey engine, to execute the new language in the Navigator browser.
When Mozilla inherited the Netscape base code in 1998, it included this engine, which was written in the C language.[9] It was then changed in JavaScript 1.5 to comply with the ECMA-262 standard.[citation needed] Eich continued to oversee the development of SpiderMonkey, the specific implementation of JavaScript in Navigator.[9]
Mozilla
In early 1998, Eich co-founded the free and open-source software project Mozilla with Jamie Zawinski and others, creating the mozilla.org website, which was meant to manage open-source contributions to the Netscape source code. He served as Mozilla's chief architect.[10]AOL bought Netscape in 1999. After AOL shut down the Netscape browser unit in July 2003, Eich helped spin out the Mozilla Foundation.[11]
In August 2005, after serving as a lead technologist and as a member of the board of directors of the Mozilla Foundation, Eich became chief technical officer (CTO) of the newly founded Mozilla Corporation, meant to be the Mozilla Foundation's for-profit arm.[11] Eich continued to "own" the Mozilla SpiderMonkey module, its JavaScript engine, until he passed the ownership of it to Dave Mandelin in 2011.[9]
On March 26, 2014, Eich expressed "sorrow for causing pain" and pledged to "work with LGBT communities and allies" at Mozilla.[28][20][21] Some of the activists created an online campaign against Eich, with online dating site OkCupid automatically displaying a message to Firefox users with information about Eich's donation, and suggesting that users switch to a different browser (although giving them a link to continue with Firefox).[29][30][31]CREDO Mobile collected more than 50,000 signatures demanding that Eich resign.[14][32]
After 11 days as CEO, Eich resigned on April 3, 2014, and left Mozilla after public outrage.[33][34][35] In his personal blog, he posted, "under the present circumstances, I cannot be an effective leader".[36][37] Mozilla made a press release saying that board members tried to get Eich to stay in the company in a different role, but that he had chosen to sever ties for the time being.[38]
At Brave Software, Eich co-created the Basic Attention Token (BAT), a cryptocurrency designed for use in the Brave browser. BAT launched its ICO on May 31, 2017, and raised $35 million.[43]
In 2020, The New York Times reported that Eich's comments about "the policy and science related to the coronavirus" on Twitter caused a backlash within the browser's user base, commenting that this echoed the criticism that led to his resignation from Mozilla.[44]
^ abMachkovech, Sam (March 27, 2014). "Mozilla employees tell Brendan Eich he needs to "step down"". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020. "I love @mozilla but I'm disappointed this week," McAvoy said, referring to the controversial decision to appoint Eich as CEO after he had donated thousands to both California's Proposition 8 and political candidates who supported it.
^Fiegerman, Seth (April 14, 2014). "Mozilla Names Former CMO as Interim CEO". Mashable. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2020. The appointment comes a week and a half after Brendan Eich stepped down as CEO amid widespread criticism of a donation he made in 2008 to Proposition 8, an initiative that aimed to ban same-sex marriage in California.
^Lynch, Shana (April 14, 2014). "Mozilla names Chris Beard as interim CEO". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2020. Eich, Mozilla's former CTO, was head of the organization for less than two weeks before widespread criticism over his support of Proposition 8, the California bill that banned gay marriage, forced him to resign.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Machkovech, Sam (April 3, 2014). "The Employees Have Spoken: Mozilla's CEO Steps Down". Inc.Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2020. Numerous Mozilla employees took to Twitter and other social media outlets to voice their disapproval.
^Hardy, Quentin; Bilton, Nick (April 4, 2014). "Personality and Change Inflamed Mozilla Crisis". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2020. Mr. Lilly, now a venture capitalist with Greylock Partners, resigned from the Mozilla board two weeks ago, ahead of Mr. Eich's appointment. "I left rather than appoint him," he said, declining to elaborate further.
^McAllister, Neil (April 8, 2014). "Gay marriage foes outraged at Mozilla CEO flap, call for boycott". The Register. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2014. In fact, Board members tried to get Brendan to stay at Mozilla in another role," the group stated in an FAQ posted on Saturday. "Brendan decided that it was better for himself and for Mozilla to sever all ties, at least for now.
^Keizer, Gregg (July 24, 2018). "The Brave browser basics – what it does, how it differs from rivals". Computerworld. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020. Brave also eliminates all ad trackers, the often-tiny page components advertisers and site publishers deploy to identify users so that they know what other sites those users visit or have visited.
