Bill Zeller

William Paul Zeller (October 26, 1983 – January 5, 2011)[1] better known as Bill Zeller was an American computer programmer who was best known for creating the MyTunes application. After Zeller committed suicide in January 2011, his suicide note began circulating widely, launching a public discussion on the long-term ill effects of child sexual abuse.

Bill Zeller
Zeller at Princeton, November 2008
Born
William Paul Zeller

(1983-10-26)26 October 1983
Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
Died5 January 2011(2011-01-05) (aged 27)
OccupationEntrepreneur

Education

A native of Middletown, Connecticut,[2] Zeller was pursuing a doctoral degree in computer science from Princeton, having earned his master's degree in 2008.[3] He received his bachelor's degree from Trinity College, Hartford in 2006.

Career

His best-known software project was MyTunes, an enhancement for Apple's iTunes software that enables users to copy music between computers on a local network.[4] During his undergraduate years he also created Zempt, an enhancement for the popular Moveable Type blogging platform.[5] Zeller continued creating innovative software in graduate school. His most recent hit was Graph Your Inbox, an extension to the Chrome browser that allows GMail users to analyze patterns in their own email traffic.[6] Graph Your Inbox appears to be no longer functional (as of April 2011), probably due to a change in the way Gmail works.

Zeller also served for more than two years as the computer science representative to Princeton's Graduate Student Government, advocating the interests of his fellow graduate students in housing, campus transportation, and other issues.[3]

He co-authored an influential paper, called "Government Data and the Invisible Hand",[7] that explained how governments can release public data in ways that will be useful to programmers. The paper has been influential both in academia and government.[8][9]

Death

Zeller attempted to hang himself in his university apartment early on Sunday, January 2, 2011. Shortly before, he had posted a 4,000-word suicide note on his website, explaining that he had been sexually abused as a young child, and had decided to take his own life as he felt unable to escape the depression and "darkness" that the memories of this abuse had left him. He was found by officials from Princeton University. As a result of the suicide attempt, he suffered brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, and was in a coma at University Medical Center at Princeton. He died following the withdrawal of life support, on the evening of January 5, 2011, at age 27.[3][10]

References
  1. "William P. ZELLER". Legacy. January 8, 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. "William Bill Zeller from Middletown, CT MiddletownPress". Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  3. Jackson, Rachel Jackson (7 January 2011). "Zeller GS, 27, dies in hospital". The Daily Princetonian. Princeton University. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  4. Student Finds iTunes Loophole, at www.trinitytripod.com Archived 2011-01-10 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Zempt". Toby Simmons, owner of Simmons Consulting, blogs about.
  6. "Graph Your Inbox, at chrome.google.com". Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  7. Government Data and the Invisible Hand
  8. "Memories from Middletown High School". Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  9. "Monday Morning Musings: Struggles of former MHS student ends tragically". Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  10. James, Susan Donaldson (7 January 2011). "Promising Princeton Student Kills Self Over Rapes". abcNews. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
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