Tim Berners-Lee: Inventor of the World Wide Web (USA Today Lifeline Biographies)

As USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, puts it, "[Tim Berners-Lee] has been compared to Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the printing press, which in turn changed religion, government and science. . . . It's bizarre to even think that there is a living, breathing inventor of the Web. He's funny and likable and about as intimidating as that Pikachu runt from my kids' Pokemon collection." Few people can name the inventor of the World Wide Web - and that's how he prefers it. Tim Berners-Lee - born in 1955 to parents who were computer programmers - was in the right place at the right time. He grew up believing computers could do more than just store data, and in 1989 he came up with a way for computers around the world to share information. His efforts developed into what most of us use on a daily basis - the World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee now directs the World Wide Web Consortium, a group that continues to ensure the Web remains free and accessible to everyone, everywhere. He is also working to bring the Web to its full potential. "The Web," he says, "is far from `done.' "