Tim Berners-Lee turns 70: The father of the web celebrates his inheritance!

Tim Berners-Lee turns 70: The father of the web celebrates his inheritance!

London, Großbritannien - Today, on June 8, 2025, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, celebrates his 70th birthday. On the occasion of this special date, his groundbreaking contributions to the digital world are looked back. Berners-Lee, born in London in 1955, is not only the creator of the hypertext transmission protocol (http) and the hypertext markup language (HTML), but also the founder of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which monitors and develops the web standards.

The opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was an important moment for Berners-Lee when he pointed out the universal nature of the Internet with the words "This is for everyone". This commitment reflects his conviction that the web should democratize access. In a review of the digital pioneering period of the late 1980s and early 1990s, it becomes clear, as the scientist in 1989, during his work on Cern, laid the foundations for a global hypertext project, which originally bore the name "Mesh" and was later renamed "Web".

The beginnings of the Internet

Berner's Lee developed the first web server on a next computer and stuck a note with the note "This Machine is a server. Do not power it down". On one of the first websites published on December 20, 1990, he explained the way the World Wide Web works. This was the starting signal for a completely new era of information spread.

In addition to his role as an innovator in technology, Berners-Lee is also known for its views on language and communication. He sees a "portal to a world of knowledge" on the web, but at the same time criticizes the associated impoverishment of the language. The challenges that the Internet is facing today are diverse; Including the spread of bots that make databases unusable.

a life in the service of the Internet

Over the years, Berners-Lee has launched numerous initiatives. This includes the foundation of the World Wide Web Foundation in 2009 and the promotion of open data and network expansion. He also campaigned for the creation of a catalog of fundamental rights for the Internet and was actively in the debate for control over domain names. In 2019 he brought up the "Contract for the Web" initiative to promote responsible use of the Internet.

For his contributions to the digital world, Berners-Lee received numerous awards; in retrospect, his knight's dignity by Queen Elizabeth II is particularly worth mentioning in 2004. He was also awarded the coveted Turing Award 2016. The path of his life is characterized by technical masterpieces and commitment to an open and accessible Internet.

Tim Berners-Lee remains actively in the World Wide Web Consortium, where it works for standards that make the Internet accessible and usable for all people. As he emphasizes himself, the web is there for everyone and it is our responsibility to protect and develop it. His vision for the Internet is enriched by the many setbacks and successes that he has experienced in the course of his career.

not only professionally, but also personally, Berners-Lee has an interesting life story. He is the son of mathematicians and, in addition to his commitment to the web, also founded a family. Berners-Lee has two children and was married to Nancy Carlson from 1990 to 2011. He has been married to Rosemary Leith since 2014.

like FAZ.net is not only an opportunity to celebrate, but also a way, but also a way, but also to think about the future of the Internet. The further development of the web not only revolutionized the way we communicate, but also influenced the entire society.

To deepen his biography and his pioneering work, we invite the information on wikipedia and