"Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," board member Art Levinson said in a statement.

No reason was given for Job's resignation, but his health problems, including a lengthy medical leave for a liver transplant in 2009 and his increasingly gaunt appearances at public events, fueled speculation he would have to give up the everyday running of the company he co-founded in 1976.

Cook ran Apple when Jobs went on medical leave and has essentially been running day-to-day operations since early this year with the company racking up record revenue and profit.

Jobs is seen as the heart and soul of Apple, with analysts and investors repeatedly expressing concern over how the Cupertino, California-based company would handle his departure.

"The board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO," Levinson said.

"Tim's 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does," Levinson continued.

Jobs submitted his resignation on Wednesday and urged the board to implement its succession plan and name Cook as his replacement, according to Apple.

Cook was previously responsible for Apple's worldwide sales and operations, including management of the supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries.

Jobs is a living legend in Silicon Valley. He is the beloved visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

Born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to a single mother and adopted by a couple in nearby Mountain View at barely a week old, he grew up among the orchards that would one day become the technology hub known as Silicon Valley.

Jobs was 21 and Steve Wozniak 26 when they founded Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs's family home in 1976.

While Microsoft licensed its software to computer makers that cranked out machines priced for the masses, Apple kept its technology private and catered to people willing to pay for superior performance and design.

Under Jobs, the company introduced its first Apple computers and then the Macintosh, which became wildly popular in the 1980s.

Apple's innovations include the "computer mouse" to make it easy for users to activate programs or open files.

Jobs was elevated to idol status by ranks of Macintosh computer devotees, many of whom saw themselves as a sort of rebel alliance opposing the powerful empire Microsoft built with its ubiquitous Windows operating systems.

Jobs left Apple in 1985 after an internal power struggle and started NeXT Computer company specializing in sophisticated workstations for businesses.

He co-founded Academy-Award-winning Pixar in 1986 from a former Lucasfilm computer graphics unit that he reportedly bought from movie industry titan George Lucas for $10 million.

Apple's luster faded after Jobs left the company, but they reconciled in 1996 with Apple buying NeXT for 429 million dollars and Jobs ascending once again to the Apple throne.

Since then, Apple has gone from strength to strength as Jobs revamped the Macintosh line, revolutionizing modern culture with the introductions of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes online shop for digital content.

Where do Apple and Steve Jobs Ad Age columnist Simon Dumenco pays attention to this stuff for a living, so I'm sure he knows more about the subject than I do. But I think Dumenco misses the mark when he contends in this column that Steve Jobs was wrong when he claimed three years ago that "people don't read anymore." Dumenco's evidence is that the iPad has turned out to be most useful as e-reader, even though, he says, "Apple has conspicuously downplayed its role as a text consumption device." That may be true. But the problem is that Dumenco assumes that Jobs meant what he said... and often he doesn't. Jobs is famous for trashing technology that Apple doesn't yet offer, in large measure an attempt to keep consumers away from the companies Apple plans to be competing against. When he said people don't read anymore, he was simply trying to squash interest in Amazon's new Kindle. What Jobs was really saying was, "Why buy a Kindle when what you really want is the tablet we're working on at Apple. So just wait a bit, would you?"

Jobs has done the same thing plenty of times before. He once said people weren't interested in watching video on small screens — and then Apple released the iPod video. He claimed people don't want Flash-based music players — and then Apple introduced the iPod shuffle. And on and on. I think Jobs knew all along that the iPad would be used as an e-reader (although I'm not sure I buy Dumenco's claim that web browsing, even on a "Flash-hobbled" device, consistutes "reading"), but he also knew that its capability as such would not be what would separate it from the competition. Apple emphasizes all the other things the iPad can do because few if any other devices can do that stuff. The iPad's e-reader features, on the other hand, are nothing unique.

Apple Co-Founder and CEO Steve Jobs appeared at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 2011

Jobs gave the keynote speech and unveiled iCloud

Apple announced on Monday, January 17, 2011 that Steve Jobs was taking a medical leave of absence
Apple announced on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 legendary financial results for Q4 2010

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