Python is a general purpose, high-level programming language created by Guido van Rossum in 1990. It is free and open source, supports structured, functional and object-oriented programming, and runs on Linux, MacOS, Windows and other platforms. Key features include being simple to learn, dynamically typed, platform independent, supporting both procedural and object-oriented paradigms, and having a large standard library and active community. Common applications of Python include web development, scientific computing, education, GUIs, software development, and business applications.