Tim Berners-Lee

Tim Berners-Lee

Tim Berners-Lee was just an average Joe, turned accidental revolutionary, turned super hero for geeks everywhere. Berners-Lee might not fit everyone's idea of a hero, and some might not even know who he is, but he has impacted our daily lives more than you know. Tim Berners-Lee is the founding father of the World Wide Web, and he is essentially responsible for making this whole website possible. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is now working as a professor, and as you may have guessed, he is extremely intelligent. When he created the World Wide Web, he didn't ask for anything in return. It was to be used freely by everyone.

Berners-Lee at MIT (http://www.americanheritage.com/)

Berners-Lee attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and, in his early years, was caught hacking. Those kinds of activities are usually reserved for the brightest, most creative of minds, and Berners-Lee is truly one of them.

World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3.org/)

Berners-Lee started work on the World Wide Web shortly after he finished university. He was working as a programmer, and needed a solution for file sharing. The idea of the World Wide Web was born. Once the Internet was established, the very first Internet browser was created, and it was later released to the general public. In order for the Internet to be used more widely, and for fledgling Web developers to get their start, Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium, or the W3C. The foundation was designed to improve the content on the Internet, and is still an invaluable resource for those interested in the World Wide Web, now one of many Internet-based communication services.

Berners-Lee allowed for free usage of the Internet, although he could have easily charged for it. Some may argue that this is what sparked popularity in the Internet, which is a source of information for many. Free Internet access is available at Internet cafés, schools, and even at the library. This makes access possible for those that would otherwise not have access to the kind of information that is provided freely over the Internet.

Berners-Lee is considered to be the "Father of the Web." While he didn’t create the Internet itself, he certainly popularized it. The World Wide Web is what attracted people’s interest. Being able to transfer data all over the world is just too great an opportunity to pass up.