The network has been distributed by a teenager’s photograph in which many Internet users will recognize the future co-founder of Microsoft. We checked whether Bill Gates in childhood is really shown in the picture.
The photograph, which was dispersed in color and black and white options, captures a fair-haired teenager with glasses, traveling along the street on a bicycle. It is claimed that this is the future entrepreneur and philanthropist Bill Gates in the 1970s.
The most widespread picture in Runet received at Telegram, where it was published in different years "Che, history"(107,000 views at the time of writing this analysis)," camera "(88 000 And 71 000), "Lev Schlosberg"(62 000) and Ru_lio (58,000).
“Verified” did not find authoritative sources in which photography would be published as a portrait of Bill Gates. It appears on the network exclusively on entertainment sites, forums and social networks.
It is really possible to talk about some similarity of the teenager on a bicycle and Bill Gates. Known photo 22-year-old Gates, made in 1977 in a police station (then the future entrepreneur was detained for ignoring the STOP sign and driving without rights).
At the same time, there are minor differences - for example, another shape of the chin and the lack of folds around the mouth - which make us doubt that this is the same person (especially, in the absence of a picture of the young man Anfas).
Separate issues are raised by the dating of photographs, which is given in popular sources. In the 1970s, Bill Gates was from 15 to 25 years old, and the boy in the photo looks younger than this range, even if you make a discount on the age of years, the young view of Gates on its significantly known portraits of that time. In addition, judging by these portraits, in adolescence, Gates has not yet wore glasses.
“Verified” studied six authoritative biographical publications about Bill Gates, including the recently released autobiography of the Entrepreneur “Source Code”. Only in the last, very detailed book, a bicycle is mentioned once-Gates recalls how in the mid-1960s he did not deliver free newspapers for long. From this we can conclude that a two -haired friend did not play a significant role in the life of the future billionaire, who in 1968 first met computers and for decades did not think about anything else. At the same time, the so -called chopper is captured in a viral photograph - a bicycle with a replaced long fork, stylized under a motorcycle. The creation of such a modification required extraordinary working with a conventional bicycle, which indicates the passion of its owner to his vehicle.
Judging by the photo, before us is the chopper based on the model Schwinn Pea Picker or similar From the same line. Such bicycles of the corresponding shade have been produced since the late 1960s, after Gates was carried away by informatics.
The earliest publication containing a viral publication and found “verified” was dated June 30, 2015. Then it was placed in Two communities On Reddit with the same signature: “The boy and his bike. 1970s ". That is, it was not initially stated that the photograph depicts Gates, although some users in the comments made such an assumption. It was this, apparently, that led to the fact that later the picture began to spread with an misleading signature.
After a month and a half, the user with the nickname 70chop was noted under both publications. With the words "Internet is cramped", the man said that it was hemetic in the photograph, which his brother made in the mid-1970s. The bicycle captured in the picture, noted 70chop, he collected himself from the parts found in the landfill.
However, this user did not leave other comments on Reddit either. The only user with such a nickname, found “checked” on other resources, is a resident of the California city of Khantington-Beach, who in 2005 told About their passion for motorcycles. Apparently, this is one and the same person who has carried a love of two -haired transport through his whole life.
"Verified" turned to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation With a request to comment on the photo. “We cannot confirm that a person in the picture is Bill Gates,” the representatives of the organization answered.
Thus, according to the aggregate of arguments, it can be argued that a cyclist in a viral photo is not a future co -founder of Microsoft. Apparently, it was an unknown American boy who later recognized himself on a photo published on the Internet.
Photo on the cover: social networks
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