David Heinemeier Hansson

Programmer, racing driver, creator of Ruby on Rails From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Heinemeier Hansson, also known by his initials DHH, is a Danish programmer, writer, entrepreneur, and racing driver. He is the creator of Ruby on Rails, a web framework written in Ruby.[1] He also created Omarchy, a pre-configured version of Arch Linux catered towards developers.[2][3] He is also a partner and chief technology officer at the web-based software development firm 37signals.[4]

Born (1979-10-15) 15 October 1979 (age 46)
Copenhagen, Denmark
OthernameDHH
Employer37signals
Quick facts Born, Other name ...
David Heinemeier Hansson
Hansson in 2016
Born (1979-10-15) 15 October 1979 (age 46)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Other nameDHH
Employer37signals
Known forRuby on Rails
Websitedhh.dk
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Hansson co-wrote Agile Web Development with Rails with Dave Thomas in 2005 as part of The Facets of Ruby Series.[5] He also co-wrote Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster Easier Way to build a Web Application[6], Rework[7], Remote: Office Not Required[8], and It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work[9] with Jason Fried.

Programming career

Hansson learned PHP in high school while creating gaming review sites. Although he initially did not intend to become a programmer, his interest in expanding his sites' features led him to pursue programming professionally.[10] In 1999, Hansson founded and built a Danish online gaming news website and community called Daily Rush, which he ran until 2001.[11] After attracting the attention of Jason Fried by offering him help with PHP coding, Hansson was hired by Fried to build a web-based project management tool, which ultimately became 37signals' Basecamp software as a service product.[10] To aid the development process, Hansson used the then-relatively obscure Ruby programming language to develop a custom web framework. He released the framework separately from the project management tool in 2004 as the open source project Ruby on Rails. In 2005, Hansson was recognized by Google and O'Reilly with the "Hacker of the Year" award for his creation of Ruby on Rails.[12] After graduating from the Copenhagen Business School and receiving his bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Business Administration, Hansson moved from Denmark to Chicago, Illinois, U.S. in November 2005.[13]

Racing career

Quick facts Nationality, Racing licence ...
David Heinemeier Hansson
DHH racing for Rebellion in 2017
NationalityDenmark Danish
Racing licence FIA Bronze (2011–2012)
FIA Silver (2013–)[14]
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2012 -
TeamsOAK Racing, Aston Martin Racing, Extreme Speed Motorsports, Proton Competition, Rebellion Racing
Best finish8th (2013)
Class wins1
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Heinemeier Hansson lists photography and race car driving amongst his many hobbies.[15] He took part in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans driving for OAK Racing.[16] He also drove a Morgan-Nissan P2 car for Conquest Racing in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), winning two races in the season. Heinemeier Hansson joined OAK Racing full-time in 2013, taking five second-place finishes to finish second in the Trophy for LMP2 Drivers. During the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans post-race technical checks, certain irregularities were detected on the Vaillante Rebellion team's No. 13 Oreca 07-Gibson, resulting in the car's disqualification.[citation needed]

In July 2010, it was revealed that Heinemeier Hansson was the person that had commissioned the one-off Pagani Zonda HH supercar.[17] He also commissioned the Koenigsegg Agera HH, which was sold in 2022 to Houston Crosta, a YouTube video creator in Las Vegas. It has now been sold to car spotting YouTuber, "TheStradman".[18] Heinemeier Hansson also purchased an Aston Martin Valkyrie.[citation needed]

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Heinemeier Hansson's No. 22 car at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

More information Year, Entrant ...
Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2013 OAK Racing LMP2 Morgan LMP2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
2
SPA
2
LMS
2
SÃO
6
COA
6
FUJ
3
SHA
2
BHR
2
2nd 132.5
2014 Aston Martin Racing LMGTE
Am
Aston Martin Vantage V8 GTE Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 SIL
1
SPA
2
LMS
1
COA
2
FUJ
1
SHA
2
BHR
1
SÃO
2
1st 198
2015 Extreme Speed Motorsports LMP2 HPD ARX-03b
Ligier JS P2
Honda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 SIL SPA
8
LMS
5
NÜR
6
COA
4
FUJ
4
SHA
Ret
BHR
7
7th 62
2016 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing LMGTE
Am
Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 SIL
5
SPA
6
LMS
2
NÜR
4
MEX
1
COA
5
FUJ
5
SHA
4
BHR
1
2nd 151
2017 Vaillante Rebellion LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK-428 4.2 litre V8 SIL
9
SPA
4
LMS
DSQ
NÜR
4
MEX
5
COA
2
FUJ
DSQ
SHA
3
BHR
3
8th 85
2018–19 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA LMS SIL FUJ SHA SEB
1
SPA
6
LMS
Ret
11th 40
2019-20 Team Project 1 LMGTE AM Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0L Flat 6 SIL FUJ
7
SHA
5
BHR
9
COA SPA LMS BHR 23rd 20
2022 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB SPA LMS
14
MNZ
FUJ
BHR
NC† 0
2023 Jota LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB
5
PRT
7
SPA
9
LMS
13
MNZ
1
FUJ
6
BHR
3
6th 84
Sources:[19][21]
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As Heinemeier Hansson was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete European Le Mans Series results

(Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

More information Year, Entrant ...
Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2011 Lotus Jetalliance GTE Pro Lotus Evora GTE Toyota-Cosworth 4.0 L V6 CAS SPA IMO SIL
NC
EST NC 0
2013 Jota Sport LMP2 Zytek Z11SN Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL IMO
5
RBR HUN LEC 17th 10
2019 Team Project 1 LMGTE Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 LEC MNZ CAT
5
SIL SPA ALG 17th 10
2022 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
11
IMO
9
MNZ
11
CAT
16
SPA
2
ALG
4
10th 32
2024 Nielsen Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT
13
LEC
11
IMO
12
SPA
13
MUG ALG 24th 0
Sources:[19][21]
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* Season still in progress.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)

More information Year, Team ...
Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points Ref
2014 RSR Racing PC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY
9
SEB
2
LGA
KAN
WGL
IMS
ELK
VIR
AUS
ATL
9
24th 57 [22]
2015 Tequila Patrón ESM P HPD ARX-04b 1
HPD ARX-03b 2
Honda HR28TT 2.8 L V6 Turbo DAY
10
SIR
9
LBH LS DET S6H MSP ELK COA PET 21st 45 [23]
2016 Starworks Motorsport PC Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 DAY
SEB
3
LBH
LGA
DET
WGL
MOS
LIM
ELK
COA
PET
6
20th 57 [24]
2018 3GT Racing GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY
9
SEB
5
MDO
4
DET
12
WGL
4
MOS
7
LIM
ELK
12
VIR
8
LGA
7
PET
10
11th 213 [25]
2020 Tower Motorsport by Starworks LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
4†
SEB
ELK
ATL
PET LGA SEB
2
18th 32 [26]
2025 Era Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
4
SEB
12
WGL
4
MOS ELK IMS
12
ATL
3
24th 1362 [27]
2026 TDS Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY
12
SEB
WGL
MOS
ELK
IMS
PET
12th* 216*
Source:[19]
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Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

Recognition

Politics

In 2025, Hansson published a blog post[30] expressing support for far-right British activist Tommy Robinson and the 2025 British anti-immigration protests. In response, some members of the Ruby on Rails community called for his removal from project governance.[31][32][33]

Written works

  • Agile Web Development with Rails 5 (Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2016) (with Sam Ruby and Dave Thomas) ISBN 978-1-68050-171-1
  • Rework [34]
  • It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work [35]
  • Remote: Office Not Required[36]
  • The Rails Doctrine.

References

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