Assange was born on July 3, 1971, in Queensland, Australia. He and his mother, the visual artist Christine Ann Hawkins, moved frequently. Hawkins met Assange’s biological father, John Shipton, at an anti-Vietnam War protest, though their relationship ended before Assange was born.

Hawkins rented an apartment across from an electronics store. There, a teenage Assange began tinkering with a Commodore 64 and learning how to code.

As a teenager and in his early 20s, Assange became a skilled and prolific hacker, known in Australia’s hacking community as Mendax. In 1996, Assange pleaded guilty to 24 counts of hacking in Melbourne’s Victoria County Court. Though the judge characterized the alleged crimes as “quite serious,” he also said Assange was motivated by “intellectual inquisitiveness” rather than malice. Assange was ultimately fined and released.