01 · A life in computing
The person behind the work
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web while working at CERN, combining linked documents with a browser, server, and common protocols. His design made information accessible across different computer systems through a shared addressing and linking framework. He later founded the World Wide Web Consortium to coordinate open standards. At the time of the award, his academic appointments included MIT and Oxford, reflecting the Web’s continuing international development.
The contribution, explained
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web at CERN, creating its first browser and server and defining key conventions for addressing, requesting and linking documents. A link could lead beyond a single machine or institution. The resulting system combined existing Internet infrastructure with a simple shared information model.
Why it matters
Common, open web technologies let people publish and navigate information on a worldwide scale.