Bill Gates Childhood and schooling.
William Henry Gates III, the sole child of William H. Gates Sr.[b] (1925–2020) and his first wife Mary Maxwell Gates (1929–1994), was born in Seattle, Washington, on October 28, 1955. He has German, Irish/Scots-Irish, and English ancestry. His mother was on the boards of United Way of America and First Interstate BancSystem, and his father was a well-known attorney. J. W. Maxwell was the president of a big bank and Gates's maternal grandfather. He also has a younger sister named Libby and an elder sister named Kristi (Kristianne). Despite being the fourth person in his family with that name, he goes by William Gates III or "Trey" (i.e., three) because his father had the suffix "II" added to his name. When Gates was seven years old, their home in Seattle's Sand Point neighbourhood was destroyed by an uncommon tornado. When Gates was younger, his parents encouraged him to become a lawyer. His family belonged to the Protestant Reformed Congregational Christi...