daughter Anna's son, Linus Torvalds, to help him program it. Törnqvist wrote out BASIC language programs, and grandson Linus, aged about eleven, typed them in. "He wanted me to share in the experience [and] get me interested in math," wrote Torvalds later. These were Linus's first programming experiences. Ten years later, Torvalds began to write the Linux kernel. Leo Törnqvist’s brother was diplomat Erik Törnqvist. His son was the nuclear physicist (1938–2018). References Further reading Finnish statisticians Academic staff of the University of Helsinki 1911 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Finnish mathematicians Elected Members of the International Statistical Institute Fellows of the Econometric Society Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland Swedish-speaking Finns Torvalds family Åbo Akademi University alumni Stockholm University alumni Academic staff of Åbo Akademi University