Apple Co-Founder and Former CEO Steve Jobs Passed Away

Just a day after the announcement of the latest iPhone, Steve Jobs has passed away.

Jobs, who was born on February 24, 1955 (making him 56 at the time of his death), was one of the original co-founders of Apple and served as its CEO for more than 14 years until resigning from the role this past August. He stayed on as chairman of the board.

He had been battling health issues (cancer, in particular) for years; he was forced to take a leave of absence from the company beginning this past January, though he still made appearances at several Apple events even during his time away. Although Tim Cook was named CEO in August and led yesterday's iPhone 4S event, many had expected Jobs to make an appearance of some sort.

Apple's board of directors released a statement a short time ago:

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.

Apple's website currently features the image of Jobs above on its homepage. It links to a separatepage which reads, "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." It calls for thoughts, memories, and condolences to be emailed to rememberingsteve@apple.com.