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Tim Berners-Lee
1955–present · Computer scientist
A British computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web at CERN and created its first browser, server and core technologies.
“The Web is more a social creation than a technical one.”
Why is this scientist famous?
Inventing the World Wide Web and creating its core technologies: URIs, HTTP and HTML.
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web at CERN by combining hypertext with the internet and developing URIs, HTTP and HTML. CERN placed the Web software in the public domain in 1993, helping it spread without licensing fees. Berners-Lee has continued to advocate an open and interoperable Web.
Tim's story
Early Life
Born in London, Berners-Lee grew up in a household where computing was part of daily life — both his parents had worked on the Ferranti Mark 1, one of the first commercial computers. He studied physics at the University of Oxford, graduating in 1976. While at Oxford he built his first computer out of an old television and a soldering iron, and later recalled that he and a fellow student lost access to the university nuclear-physics computer after exploiting a bug to run an unauthorised printing job.
The Idea at CERN
In 1984 Berners-Lee took a position at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the European particle physics laboratory in Switzerland. Frustrated by the difficulty of keeping track of information across different computers, he noticed that the growing internet already provided a way to send data between machines — what was missing was a way to link and organise information. In March 1989 he wrote a proposal for a 'mesh' of hypertext documents that could be browsed by anyone on the network. His supervisor scrawled 'vague but exciting' in the margin.
Building the Web
By the end of 1990, Berners-Lee had created the first web browser-editor, the first web server and the first website at info.cern.ch. In August 1991 he announced the World Wide Web project on internet newsgroups, making it available to a wider audience. On April 30, 1993, CERN placed the Web software in the public domain, allowing anyone to use and develop it without licensing fees.
Legacy
In 1994 Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop open web standards and ensure the web remained free and interoperable. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 and awarded the Turing Award in 2016. He has since campaigned for a free and open web, founding the Solid project to give users more control over their own data. He is a professor at MIT and Oxford, and remains a vocal advocate for the web as a public good.
What did they discover?
The World Wide Web
Invented the system of linked hypertext documents accessed via the internet, including the first web browser, first web server, and the first website at info.cern.ch.
HTTP and HTML
Created the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the foundational protocols and language that make web pages possible.
Uniform Resource Identifiers
Developed the URI addressing system used to identify resources on the Web, including the web addresses known as URLs.
Amazing facts
His supervisor at CERN wrote 'vague but exciting' on his original web proposal.
The first web page was simply a text document explaining what the World Wide Web was.
On April 30, 1993, CERN placed the Web software in the public domain so that anyone could use it without licensing fees.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004.
He received the Turing Award, often called the Nobel Prize of computing, in 2016.
Both his parents worked on the Ferranti Mark 1, one of the first commercial computers.
Timeline
Born in London, England
Graduated in physics from the University of Oxford
Joined CERN as a software engineer
Wrote the proposal for the World Wide Web
Wrote the first web browser, web server, and web page
Announced the World Wide Web project on internet newsgroups, making it available to a wider audience
CERN placed the World Wide Web software in the public domain
Founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at MIT
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Received the Turing Award
Awards & honours
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