Every day, billions of people around the world open websites, share links, stream videos, or shop online. Yet, very few stop to ask: Who made this possible? Behind every webpage and every “http://” is one man Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the English computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web. His vision transformed the way humanity shares information, communicates, and connects.

Born on 8 June 1955 in London, Berners-Lee grew up in a family of computer pioneers his parents helped build one of the first commercial computers. As a child, Tim loved tinkering with electronics, building gadgets and experimenting with machines. Later, at Oxford University, he studied physics and even built his own computer using spare parts. This deep curiosity set the foundation for an invention that would one day change the world.

In 1989, while working at CERN (the European physics research center in Switzerland), Berners-Lee noticed a problem: scientists had research data scattered across different systems, making it hard to share and access information. To solve this, he proposed a “global hypertext system” a way to link documents so people could navigate them easily.

By 1990, he created the first web browser, first web server, and the first website. To make this work, he also designed three core technologies we still use today:

• HTML (HyperText Markup Language) – the language used to build webpages.
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator) – the “address” of a webpage.
• HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) – the system that allows browsers and servers to communicate.

This was the birth of the World Wide Web and it all started with a simple vision: to make knowledge shareable and accessible for everyone.

Unlike many tech entrepreneurs, Berners-Lee did not patent or sell his invention. In 1993, CERN made the World Wide Web free and open to everyone. This act of generosity allowed the web to spread across the globe at lightning speed, powering today’s internet economy, social networks, and digital culture.

To guide its development, he founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which sets standards to keep the web open and functional for all. Later, he established the World Wide Web Foundation to ensure the internet remains a force for good, promoting accessibility, freedom, and fairness.

For his contributions, Berners-Lee has received countless awards, including being knighted in 2004 and awarded the Turing Award in 2016, often called the “Nobel Prize of Computing.” Yet, he remains humble, often reminding the world that “the web was made to connect people.”

Today, he continues to advocate for an open and safe internet. Concerned about issues like privacy, misinformation, and the power of big tech companies, he is working on new projects like Solid, a system that gives people control of their own data.

Most of us know the names of tech billionaires, but not the man who made their empires possible. Without Berners-Lee’s decision to keep the web free, the internet might have become a closed system controlled by a few corporations. His vision gave us freedom, connection, and opportunity.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee is more than just the inventor of the web he is a guardian of its future, constantly reminding us that the internet should serve humanity, not just profit.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

• Born in 1955 in London; studied physics at Oxford University.
• Invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN.
• Created the three core technologies: HTML, URL, HTTP.
• Built the first website, browser, and server in 1990.
• Made the web free and open in 1993, enabling global growth.
• Founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and World Wide Web Foundation.
• Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 and awarded the Turing Award in 2016.
• Advocates for an open, fair, and safe web, currently working on Solid to give users control of their data.
• Believes: “The web is for everyone.”