(CNN) — Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died of respiratory arrest brought on by a pancreatic tumor, a public health official reported yesterday.
Jobs died at 3 p.m. last Wednesday at home in Palo Alto, California, said Amy Cornell of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
His death was announced by Apple, the Silicon Valley company he founded with Steve Wozniak. Jobs was 56.
The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse.
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In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet — all of which changed how digital content was consumed.
Jobs’ death, while dreaded by Apple’s legions of fans, was not unexpected. He had battled cancer for years, took a medical leave from Apple in January and stepped down as chief executive in August because he could “no longer meet (his) duties and expectations.”