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Fellows Directory

Timothy Berners-Lee

Timothy Berners-Lee

Sir Timothy Berners-Lee OM OBE FREng FRS

Fellow

Elected: 2001

Biography

Tim Berners-Lee is a computer scientist and software engineer who invented the World Wide Web in 1990 whilst working at CERN. His construction of the world’s first website, web server and web browser revolutionised the way in which we access the internet and has had an immeasurable societal and economic impact.

Underpinning the World Wide Web was Tim’s invention of the Universal Resource Locator (URL), an addressing system that provided each Web page with a unique location, and the HTTP and HTML protocols, which defined how information is structured and transmitted on the web.

Amongst his many accolades, Tim has been awarded a knighthood and the Order of Merit, and was one of five recipients of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize. He has also been named among Time magazine’s 100 most important people of the 20th century.

Interest and expertise

Subject groups

  • Mathematics
    • Computer science (excl engineering aspects)

Awards

  • Japan Prize

    In the field of computing and computational science and engineering for advancement of civilization through invention, implementation and deployment of the world wide web.

  • Millennium Technology Prize

    Inventor of the World Wide Web from United Kingdom, was announced on April 15, 2004 as the first laureate of the award. The Prize was presented to Berners-Lee at a ceremony in the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki by the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen on June 15, 2004.

  • Royal Medals

    In recognition of his invention and subsequent development of the World Wide Web, designing the universal resource locator (URL), an addressing system to give each Web page a unique location and the two protocols HTTP and HTML. His work has revolutionised communication via the internet, enabling universal access to information placed on the Web.

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