[1] Knauth joined the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Board of Directors in 1998 as treasurer.

On March 25, 2021, Knauth said he would resign from being a voting member of the FSF once there was suitable leadership to replace him.

or Bachelor of Arts) degree from Harvard University in 1983 in Economics and competed on the rowing team.

Later in the late 1980s and 2000s he took additional computer science and language courses both at Harvard and Northeastern University.

[2][8] Knauth is fluent in English, Russian and French, with some knowledge of German and Chinese.