Short answers, pulled from the story.
Stephen John Ditko was born on the 2nd of November 1927 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a working-class family of second-generation Americans with parents who were Rusyn Byzantine Catholic immigrants from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Stan Lee conceived the name and plot for Spider-Man, but Steve Ditko designed the character's visual identity including the costume and web-shooters. Ditko created the skinny, awkward teenager with glasses and the spider-like powers that defined the final version of the character.
Steve Ditko left The Amazing Spider-Man after four years due to disagreements with Stan Lee over credit and compensation for his plotting contributions. The rift involved differing views on how stories should be handled and disputes over royalties that led to Ditko walking away from the series.
Steve Ditko was an ardent supporter of Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, which shaped his views on morality, finances, and his mission as a comic-book creator. He incorporated these Randian views into characters like the Question and Mr. A while also supporting a constitutional republic and inalienable individual rights.
Steve Ditko was found unresponsive in his New York City apartment on the 29th of June 2018 and was pronounced dead at the age of 90. The cause of death was initially deemed to be a heart attack brought on by arteriosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
Steve Ditko won multiple Alley Awards for Spider-Man and was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. He refused the 1987 Comic-Con International Inkpot Award and returned it to the organizers because he believed awards made artists compete against each other.