Thomas Knoll

Thomas Knoll, born on April 14, 1960, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a renowned American software engineer and computer scientist best known for creating Adobe Photoshop. His journey into image processing began in 1988 when he developed the first core routines that would lay the foundation for this revolutionary software.

After demonstrating his initial work to his brother, John Knoll, who was then employed at Industrial Light and Magic, Thomas received valuable feedback and suggestions for new features. This collaboration led to the bundling of these routines into a user-friendly package. In the same year, John sold the distribution license for Photoshop to Adobe Systems, and later, in March 1995, he sold the rights to the program for thirty-four million five hundred thousand dollars.

Thomas served as the lead developer of Photoshop until version CS4 and continues to contribute to the Camera Raw plug-in, which processes raw images from cameras. His contributions to the field of digital imaging have been recognized widely, including his induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016 alongside his brother.

Knoll graduated from the University of Michigan and has had a lasting impact on his hometown, where an independent elementary school, Summers-Knoll, was founded by his wife, Ruth Knoll, in 1995. The school carried the Knoll name until its retirement at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, when it was officially acquired by Greenhills School.

In 2019, Thomas and John were honored with a Scientific and Engineering Award at the Oscars for their original architecture, design, and development of Photoshop, further solidifying their legacy in the world of technology and photography.