Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs Dies at Age 56

Apple has reported that their former CEO and founder Steve Jobs has passed away. This news comes after Jobs has faced a number of serious health issues over the last few years, most recently announcing his resignation as CEO of Apple due to health conditions being "more complex" than he thought.

Apple reps have confirmed his death as well as an announcement posted via the company's official website.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com

Apple has also released this official statement:

We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that
enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.

Jobs, the visionary behind the iPhone, the iPod and the iMac, co-founded Apple Computer along with Steve Wozniak in 1976. Together they launched the Apple II computer, the first popular desktop computer, the following year.

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Roger McNamee, a former colleague of Jobs, said, "It boggles the mind to think of all the things that Steve Jobs did ... Any one of [his accomplishments] would have qualified him as one of the great executives  in American history, the sum of which put him in a  place where no one else has ever been before. To me he is of his era  what Thomas Edison was to the beginning of the 20th century."

Steve Jobs is survived by his wife, Laurene, and his 4 children. He was 56.

Steve Jobs Addressing His Mortality In 2005 Commencement Speech