Unix created at AT&T Bell Labs [plain old telephone] Ma Bell... The Phone Company
The Unix Philosophy
  • Write programs that do one thing and do it well.
  • Write programs that work together.
  • Write programs that handle text streams, because that is a universal interface.

The Unix Philosophy extends to all areas of computing. This has been true since the late-1960s and early-1970s.

Where was Unix created?   The Bell System
The creator of Unix?   Ken Thompson
The creator of C and major Unix contributor?   Dennis Ritchie

Computer.org:: Unix and Beyond (interview with Ken Thompson [restricted access])
Bell-Labs.com::Writings From the Past (Dennis Ritchie's Unix notes from early-1970s)
Bell-Labs.com::Reflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson
Thompson and Ritchie were awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton in 1999. 

"UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group
 in the United States and other countries."

Porticus.org::BellSystemMemorial::Mural From Ely, Nevada

[update::2011.12.06] Dennis Ritchie died in early October of 2011 at the age of 70. Ritchie's siblings wrote an "In Memoriam" to dmr's homepage at Bell-Labs.com and the following was copied from that. 

   "Dennis was an unfailingly kind, sweet, unassuming, and 
    generous brother--and of course a complete geek. He had 
    a hilariously dry sense of humor, and a keen appreciation 
    for life's absurdities--though his world view was entirely 
    devoid of cynicism or mean-spiritedness."