Python is an interpreted scripting language created in 1991 by Guido van Rossum. It is useful for small to medium sized projects and is used by many companies like Google, Yahoo, and YouTube. Python can be installed on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating systems by downloading the appropriate version from its website. It is an interpreted language, meaning code is executed directly without compilation. Python uses static typing where the type of a value determines how it behaves in expressions. It provides many built-in functions for common operations like math, converting between types, and rounding numbers. Functions allow code reuse and make programs more readable.