Bjarne Stroustrup was born in Denmark; he is a computer scientist and the College of Engineering Chair Professor of Computer Science at Texas A&M University. He is most notable for developing the C++ programming language. A rough English attempt at pronunciation of his name would be "B-yar-ne Strov-stroop".

Stroustrup began developing C++ in 1979 (then called "C with Classes"), and, in his own words, "invented C++, wrote its early definitions, and produced its first implementation... chose and formulated the design criteria for C++, designed all its major facilities, and was responsible for the processing of extension proposals in the C++ standards committee." 

Stroustrup also wrote what many consider to be the standard text for the language, The C++ Programming Language, which is now in its third edition. The text has been revised twice to reflect the evolution of the language and the work of the C++ standards committee.