Vinton Gray

Many people are not heroes. Some don't even realize that the smallest action they could perform could change the world. The definition of hero has always been vague, yet some people can still be called heroes. Vinton Gray "Vint" Cerf is a hero because he helped develop TCP/IP, which would soon turn into the fundamentals in which the internet is based. The internet has changed the world for the better, and without it, society everywhere on earth would be different. Vint is a hero in any eyes due to his contribution to making the world a better place.

Vinton was born on June 23, 1943 in New Haven, Connecticut. Vinton got his education from Stanford University and UCLA. At Stanford University he received a B.S. degree in Mathematics, and left IBM in 1970 to attend graduate school at UCLA where he earned his M.S. degree and PhD. After receiving his doctorate, he became an assistant professor at Stanford University. Here he conducted most of his research on helping Bob Kahn design the DoD TCP/IP protocol suite. This was the beginning of the internet.

Cerf then transitioned to working at DARPA in 1976, where he would work quietly until 1982. In 1982 he left to become Vice President of MCI Digital Information Services until 1986. He led the creation of MCI Mail, the first email service. This helped publicize the internet and spread its wings. The internet was then in full swing, and Cerf had led it. Websites soon began popping up everywhere, and to help the cause, Cerf and Bob Kahn co-founded the Internet Society to provide leadership in policy, standards, and leadership related to the internet. News sites like MSN began the spread of instant news, and sites created by normal people, like blogs, brought pain to companies and political leaders that needed to clean up their act. By 1995, the first fundraising campaign online had been successful, and almost twenty-thousand dollars had been raised for Cardiovascular disease research.

The internet today has a wide range of websites, like social media and news, but stays nearly the same as how it was in its first days. Cerf helped lead the internet into a stronger state, and now he has received many awards praising him and Bob Kahn for the development of internet. Research for thousands of diseases has been funded by kickstarters and fundraisers, raising well over 10 million dollars to date. Stories of corrupt government and hidden lives from troubled countries first made its debut on the internet before being noticed by press. People needing help on anything from hard times to homework can be answered by some random person on the other side of the world on a forum. The internet has brought downsides too, but what it has done for the world is phenomenal. Vinton Cerf has helped the world become less corrupt, more hospitable, and more efficient.

Vinton technically helped AIDs become a renowned and well known problem. He also technically helped create social networks, which spread information to over a billion users. He also helped one billion people finish their homework, all in partial by creating the internet. Vinton Gray Cerf is a hero because of these things and deserves to be known for it. Vinton has personally affected my life in how it allows me to connect with friends and family, even across the world. The world is a nicer place to live in because the internet, and he is a true hero.