Short answers, pulled from the story.
Origin Systems was founded on the 3rd of March 1983 by Richard Garriott, his brother Robert Garriott, their father Owen Garriott, and programmer Chuck Bueche. The company started in the Garriott family's garage in Houston, Texas, after Richard had difficulty collecting royalties owed by other publishers.
Electronic Arts acquired Origin Systems in September 1992 for $35 million in stock. At the time of the deal, Origin had about $13 million in annual revenue and had previously considered an initial public offering before agreeing to the acquisition.
Origin Systems was best known for the Ultima role-playing game series and the Wing Commander space combat series. The company also released Ultima Online in 1997, one of the earliest graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing games.
Electronic Arts disbanded Origin Systems in February 2004. The studio had shifted to an online-only focus after Ultima IX: Ascension in 1999, and continued supporting Ultima Online until its closure.
John Romero worked at Origin from 1987 to 1988 before co-founding id Software. Warren Spector worked there from 1989 to 1996 and later created Deus Ex at Ion Storm. Chris Roberts, creator of Wing Commander, worked at Origin from 1988 to 1996 and later founded Cloud Imperium Games.
Ultima Online was one of the earliest graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Origin Systems released it in 1997. The technical prototype was created by Ken Demarest, and Starr Long directed the project.