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David Heinemeier Hansson

Programmer, racing driver, creator of Ruby on Rails

David Heinemeier Hansson

Programmer, racing driver, creator of Ruby on Rails

FieldValue
nameDavid Heinemeier Hansson
aliasDHH
imageDavid Heinemeier Hansson Driver of Abu Dhabi Proton Racing's Porsche 911 RSR (27225732035) (cropped).jpg
captionHansson in 2016
birth_date
birth_placeCopenhagen, Denmark
employer37signals
known forRuby on Rails
website

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. He also created Omarchy, a pre-configured version of Arch Linux catered towards developers. He is also a partner and chief technology officer at the web-based software development firm 37signals.

Hansson co-wrote Agile Web Development with Rails with Dave Thomas in 2005 as part of The Facets of Ruby Series. He also co-wrote Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster Easier Way to build a Web Application, Rework, Remote: Office Not Required, and It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work 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. In 1999, Hansson founded and built a Danish online gaming news website and community called Daily Rush, which he ran until 2001. 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. 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. 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.

Racing career

David Heinemeier Hansson lists photography and race car driving amongst his many hobbies. He took part in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans driving for OAK Racing. 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.

In July 2010 it was revealed that Heinemeier Hansson was the person that had commissioned the one-off Pagani Zonda HH supercar. 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". Heinemeier Hansson also purchased an Aston Martin Valkyrie.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Heinemeier Hansson's No. 22 car at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans
YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
FRA OAK RacingBEL Bas Leinders
BEL Maxime MartinMorgan LMP2-NissanLMP234114th7th
FRA OAK RacingFRA Olivier Pla
GBR Alex BrundleMorgan LMP2-NissanLMP23288th2nd
GBR Aston Martin RacingDNK Kristian Poulsen
DNK Nicki ThiimAston Martin Vantage GTEGTE
Am33417th1st
USA Extreme Speed MotorsportsUSA Scott Sharp
GBR Ryan DalzielLigier JS P2-HondaLMP232928th10th
GER Abu Dhabi-Proton RacingARE Khaled Al Qubaisi
USA Patrick LongPorsche 911 RSRGTE
Am33028th3rd
CHE Vaillante RebellionBRA Nelson Piquet Jr.
CHE Mathias BecheOreca 07-GibsonLMP2364DSQDSQ
CHN Jackie Chan DC RacingUSA Ricky Taylor
FRA Côme LedogarLigier JS P217-GibsonLMP2195DNFDNF
CHN Jackie Chan DC RacingUSA Ricky Taylor
GBR Jordan KingOreca 07-GibsonLMP2199DNFDNF
POL Inter Europol CompetitionBRA Pietro Fittipaldi
CHE Fabio SchererOreca 07-GibsonLMP236418th14th
GBR JotaBRA Pietro Fittipaldi
DNK Oliver RasmussenOreca 07-GibsonLMP231624th13th
GBR Nielsen RacingCHE Fabio Scherer
CAY Kyffin SimpsonOreca 07-GibsonLMP229125th11th
GBR United AutosportsBRA Pietro Fittipaldi
NLD Renger van der ZandeOreca 07-GibsonLMP236424th7th

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

YearEntrantClassCarEngine123456789RankPointsnowrapOAK RacingLMP2nowrapMorgan LMP2nowrapNissan VK45DE 4.5 L V82nd132.5nowrapAston Martin RacingLMGTE
AmnowrapAston Martin Vantage V8 GTEnowrapAston Martin 4.5 L V81st198nowrapExtreme Speed MotorsportsLMP2nowrapHPD ARX-03b
Ligier JS P2nowrapHonda HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V67th62nowrapAbu Dhabi-Proton RacingLMGTE
AmnowrapPorsche 911 RSRnowrapPorsche 4.0 L Flat-62nd151nowrapVaillante RebellionLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK-428 4.2 litre V88th85nowrapJackie Chan DC RacingLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK428 4.2 L V811th40nowrapTeam Project 1nowrapLMGTE AMnowrapPorsche 911 RSRnowrapPorsche 4.0L Flat 623rd20nowrapInter Europol CompetitionLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK428 4.2 L V8NC†0nowrapJotaLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK428 4.2 L V86th84
2013SIL
2SPA
2LMS
2SÃO
6COA
6FUJ
3SHA
2BHR
2
2014SIL
1SPA
2LMS
1COA
2FUJ
1SHA
2BHR
1SÃO
2
2015SILSPA
8LMS
5NÜR
6COA
4FUJ
4SHA
RetBHR
7
2016SIL
5SPA
6LMS
2NÜR
4MEX
1COA
5FUJ
5SHA
4BHR
1
2017SIL
9SPA
4LMS
DSQNÜR
4MEX
5COA
2FUJ
DSQSHA
3BHR
3
nowrap2018–19SPALMSSILFUJSHASEB
1SPA
6LMS
Ret
nowrap2019-20SILFUJ
7SHA
5BHR
9COASPALMSBHR
2022SEBSPALMS
14MNZ
FUJ
BHR
2023SEB
5PRT
7SPA
9LMS
13MNZ
1FUJ
6BHR
3

† 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)

YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456RankPointsnowrapLotus JetalliancenowrapGTE PronowrapLotus Evora GTEnowrapToyota-Cosworth 4.0 L V6NC0nowrapJota SportLMP2nowrapZytek Z11SNnowrapNissan VK45DE 4.5 L V817th10nowrapTeam Project 1LMGTEnowrapPorsche 911 RSRnowrapPorsche 4.0 L Flat-617th10nowrapInter Europol CompetitionLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK428 4.2 L V810th32nowrapNielsen RacingLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK428 4.2 L V824th0
2011CASSPAIMOSIL
NCEST
2013SILIMO
5RBRHUNLEC
2019LECMNZCAT
5SILSPAALG
2022LEC
11IMO
9MNZ
11CAT
16SPA
2ALG
4
2024CAT
13LEC
11IMO
12SPA
13MUGALG
  • Season still in progress.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

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

YearTeamClassCarEngine1234567891011RankPointsRefnowrapRSR RacingPCnowrapOreca FLM09nowrapChevrolet LS3 6.2 L V824th57nowrapTequila Patrón ESMPnowrapHPD ARX-04b 1
HPD ARX-03b 2nowrapHonda HR28TT 2.8 L V6 Turbo21st45nowrapStarworks MotorsportPCnowrapOreca FLM09nowrapChevrolet LS3 6.2 L V820th57nowrap3GT RacingGTDnowrapLexus RC F GT3nowrapLexus 5.0 L V811th213nowrapTower Motorsport by StarworksLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK428 4.2 L V818th32nowrapEra MotorsportLMP2nowrapOreca 07nowrapGibson GK428 4.2 L V824th1362
2014DAY
9SEB
2LGA
KAN
WGL
IMS
ELK
VIR
AUS
ATL
9
2015DAY
10SIR
9LBHLSDETS6HMSPELKCOAPET
2016DAY
SEB
3LBH
LGA
DET
WGL
MOS
LIM
ELK
COA
PET
6
2018DAY
9SEB
5*MDO*
4DET
12WGL
4MOS
7LIM
ELK
12VIR
8LGA
7PET
10
2020DAY
4†SEB
ELK
ATL
PETLGASEB
2
2025DAY
4SEB
12WGL
4MOSELKIMS
12ATL
3

† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

Political views

Hansson argued that mass immigration had eroded London's native British identity and cultural cohesion, contrasting it with Denmark's more stable demographics. He criticized UK authorities for suppressing free speech and labelling nationalists as "far right." Hansson calls for Britain to follow Denmark's example of politically acknowledging and correcting immigration-driven societal change.

Recognition

  • 2005: Won Best Hacker of the Year 2005 at OSCON from Google and O'Reilly for the work on Rails.
  • 2006: Accepted the Jolt Award of product excellence for Rails 1.0.
  • 2012: Named ALMS Rookie of the year.

Written works

  • Agile Web Development with Rails 5 (Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2016) (with Sam Ruby and Dave Thomas)
  • Rework
  • It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
  • Remote: Office Not Required
  • The Rails Doctrine.

References

References

  1. {{Triangulation. 259. DHH
  2. "Omarchy 2.0".
  3. "Omarchy".
  4. McManus, Sean. (June 28, 2024). "Are rainy days ahead for cloud computing?".
  5. (2005). "Agile Web Development With Rails: A Pragmatic Guide". Pragmatic Bookshelf.
  6. (2006). "Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application".
  7. (2010). "Rework". Crown Currency.
  8. (2013). "Remote: Office Not Required". Random House Audio.
  9. (2018). "It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work". Harper Business.
  10. [http://www.dailyrush.dk Daily Rush]
  11. Douglas, Nick. "I'm David Heinemeier Hansson, Basecamp CTO, and This Is How I Work". Lifehacker.
  12. "Google-O'Reilly Open Source Awards - Hall of Fame". Google Code.
  13. Staff writer. (March 9, 2014). "David Heinemeier Hansson: Basecamp, Remote and the next big thing". eTalks.
  14. (7 November 2012). "2013 FIA WEC - Liste des catégorisations des pilotes". [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile]].
  15. "DHH weblog".
  16. Mercier, Laurent. (2012-04-18). "L'équipage de la Morgan 2012 LMP2 #35 affiche complet". Infomaniak Network SA.
  17. (August 2010). "Pagani Zonda HH". secretentourage.com.
  18. (Oct 7, 2014). "One-of-a-Kind Koenigsegg Agera HH Spotted".
  19. "David Heinemeier Hansson Results". Motorsport Stats.
  20. "David Heinemeier Hansson". [[Automobile Club de l'Ouest]].
  21. "David Heinemeier-Hansson". [[Motor Sport (magazine).
  22. "David Hansson – 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  23. "David Hansson – 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  24. "David Hansson – 2016 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  25. "David Hansson – 2018 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  26. "David Hansson – 2020 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  27. "David Hansson – 2025 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  28. "As I remember London".
  29. [http://www.loudthinking.com/about.html About David Heinemeier Hansson] {{webarchive. link. (2011-06-02. Loudthinking.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-30.)
  30. "ALMS: 2012 Rookies of the Year, David Heinemeier Hansson & Alex Popow".
  31. (2010). "Rework". Crown Currency.
  32. (2018). "It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work". Harper Business.
  33. (2013). "Remote: Office Not Required". Vermilion.
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