Who is the most associated with the development of computer operating systems?

The development of computer operating systems is most closely associated with figures like Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, who created UNIX at Bell Labs in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Additionally, Bill Gates and Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft, which developed MS-DOS and Windows, significantly influencing personal computing. Other notable contributors include Linus Torvalds, who created the Linux kernel, leading to the widespread adoption of open-source operating systems.