# C Programming Language A general-purpose programming language created by [[wiki/Dennis Ritchie|Dennis Ritchie]] at [[wiki/Bell Labs|Bell Labs]] between 1969 and 1973, originally for the [[wiki/Unix|Unix]] operating system. C became the foundational systems programming language and influenced virtually every subsequent programming language. Its creation is part of the Bell Labs innovation catalog documented in [[articles/Bell Labs and the Distributed Architecture of American Power|Bell Labs and the Distributed Architecture of American Power]].