Charles Simonyi (; Hungarian: Simonyi Károly, pronounced [ˈʃimoɲi ˈkaːroj]; born September 10, 1948) is a Hungarian-American software architect, businessman, and space tourist. He led the development of Microsoft's first application software, including early versions of Microsoft Office, and later co-founded Intentional Software, a company focused on his concept of intentional programming. A former researcher at Xerox PARC, he helped pioneer graphical user interfaces and introduced object-oriented programming and Hungarian notation to Microsoft. Simonyi flew to space twice as a private citizen, becoming the fifth space tourist and the only one to pay for two separate trips to the International Space Station. As of January 2025, his net worth was estimated at US$7.5 billion.
HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to
2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map
carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each
one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what
you find.