The Python programming language was invented by Guido van Rossum. He began developing Python in December 1989 during a Christmas holiday while working at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands. Python was created as a successor to the ABC programming language, addressing its limitations while maintaining its user-friendly nature. The language was first released publicly in February 1991. Guido van Rossum named it "Python" after the British comedy show "Monty Python's Flying Circus," not after the snake.