The Apache Software Foundation

The history of the Apache Software Foundation is linked to the Apache HTTP Server, development beginning in February 1993. A group of eight developers started working on enhancing the NCSA HTTPd daemon. They came to be known as the Apache Group. On March 25, 1999, the Apache Software Foundation was formed. The first official meeting of the Apache Software Foundation was held on April 13, 1999. The initial members of the Apache Software Foundation consisted of the Apache Group: Brian Behlendorf, Ken Coar, Miguel Gonzales, Mark Cox, Lars Eilebrecht, Ralf S. Engelschall, Roy T. Fielding, Dean Gaudet, Ben Hyde, Jim Jagielski, Alexei Kosut, Martin Kraemer, Ben Laurie, Doug MacEachern, Aram Mirzadeh, Sameer Parekh, Cliff Skolnick, Marc Slemko, William (Bill) Stoddard, Paul Sutton, Randy Terbush and Dirk-Willem van Gulik.{{cite web|date=13 April 1999|title=The Apache Software Foundation: Board of Directors Meeting Minutes|url=https://www.apache.org/foundation/records/minutes/1999/board_minutes_1999_04_13.txt|access-date=April 21, 2021|archive-date=August 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806105303/http://www.apache.org/foundation/records/minutes/1999/board_minutes_1999_04_13.txt|url-status=live}} After a series of additional meetings to elect board members and resolve other legal matters regarding incorporation, the effective incorporation date of the Apache Software Foundation was set to June 1, 1999.

Co-founder Brian Behlendorf states how the name 'Apache' was chosen: "I suggested the name Apache partly because the web technologies at the time that were launching were being called cyber this or spider that or something on those themes and I was like we need something a little more interesting, a little more romantic, not to be a cultural appropriator or anything like that, I had just seen a documentary about Geronimo and the last days of a Native American tribe called the Apaches right, who succumbed to the invasion from the West, from the United States, and they were the last tribe to give up their territory and for me that almost romantically represented what I felt we were doing with this web-server project..."{{cite web|title=Trillions and Trillions Served|website=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUt2nb0mgwg&t=249s|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508210752/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUt2nb0mgwg&t=249s|url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of Apache Software Foundation projects}}

Apache divides its software development activities into separate semi-autonomous areas called "top-level projects" (formally known as a "Project Management Committee" in the bylaws

{{cite web |title=Bylaws of The Apache Software Foundation |url=https://www.apache.org/foundation/bylaws.html |publisher=Apache Software Foundation |access-date=August 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725012133/http://apache.org/foundation/bylaws.html |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |url-status=live}}

), some of which have a number of sub-projects. Unlike some other organizations that host FOSS projects, before a project is hosted at Apache it has to be licensed to the ASF with a grant or contributor agreement.

{{cite web |title=Licenses |url=https://www.apache.org/licenses/#clas |publisher=Apache Software Foundation |access-date=August 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725011702/http://www.apache.org/licenses/ |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |url-status=live}}

In this way, the ASF gains the necessary intellectual property rights for the development and distribution of all its projects.{{cite book |last=St. Amant |first=Kirk |author2=Brian Still |title=Handbook of research on open source software: technological, economic, and social perspectives |publisher=Idea Group Inc (IGI) |year=2007 |pages=217–219 |isbn=978-1-59140-999-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=75KT6GdcWbYC&q=%22apache+foundation%22&pg=PA218 |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531035524/https://books.google.com/books?id=75KT6GdcWbYC&q=%22apache+foundation%22&pg=PA218 |url-status=live }}

The board of directors of The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is responsible for management and oversight of the business and affairs of the corporation in accordance with the Bylaws. This includes management of the corporate assets (funds, intellectual property, trademarks, and support equipment), appointment of a President and corporate officers managing the core operations of the ASF, and allocation of corporate resources for the benefit of Apache projects. Technical decision-making authority for every Apache project is assigned to their independent project management committee; the participants in each project provide direction, not the board.

The board is elected annually by the ASF membership.{{cite web |title=Apache Corporate Governance |publisher=Apache Software Foundation |url=https://www.apache.org/foundation/governance/meetings |year=2021 |access-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-date=March 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318095640/http://apache.org/foundation/governance/meetings |url-status=live }}

Since March 6, 2025, the board of directors has been:{{cite book |last=Weber |first=Steve |title=The success of open source |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2004 |page=[https://archive.org/details/successofopensou00webe/page/187 187] |url=https://archive.org/details/successofopensou00webe |url-access=registration |quote=apache software foundation board of directors. |isbn=978-0-674-01292-9}}{{cite web |title=Board of Directors |publisher=Apache Software Foundation |year=2020 |url=https://www.apache.org/foundation/board/ |access-date=February 11, 2020 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616074241/https://www.apache.org/foundation/board/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=How the ASF works |publisher=Apache Software Foundation |year=2010 |url=https://www.apache.org/foundation/how-it-works.html#structure |access-date=April 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722185522/http://www.apache.org/foundation/how-it-works.html |archive-date=July 22, 2010 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=ASF History Project - Directors Timeline|url=https://apache.org/history/directors.html|access-date=2021-05-10|website=apache.org|archive-date=June 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616074252/https://www.apache.org/history/directors.html|url-status=live}}

• Rich Bowen
• Zili Chen
• Shane Curcuru
• Jim Jagielski
• Justin Mclean
• Jean-Baptiste Onofré
• Greg Stein
• Sander Striker
• Kanchana Welagedara

{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

• List of Apache Software Foundation projects
• Apache Attic
• Apache Incubator
• Log4Shell
• CNCF
• Linux Foundation

{{Reflist}}

• Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (2006); Don Tapscott, Anthony D. Williams.

{{Commons category|Apache Software Foundation}}

• {{Official website|https://www.apache.org/}}
• [http://www.apachecon.com ApacheCon website]
• "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkvqJaX4S50 Trillions and Trillions Served]" – Feature documentary by the Apache Software Foundation detailing its history and impact on the open-source software community (2020)

{{Apache Software Foundation}}

{{FOSS}}

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Category:1999 establishments in Maryland

Category:501(c)(3) organizations

Category:Free and open-source software organizations

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Maryland

Category:Software companies established in 1999