James Gosling is a Canadian computer scientist best known for creating the programming language Java. He developed Java while working at Sun Microsystems in the mid-1990s, and it has since become one of the most widely used programming languages in the world. Gosling's contributions to the field of computer science extend beyond Java; he has also worked on various other projects and technologies. His work has had a significant impact on software development, making programming more accessible and efficient for developers globally.