Steve Wilhite

Steve Wilhite
Born
Stephen Earl Wilhite

(1948-03-03)March 3, 1948
West Chester Township, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 14, 2022(2022-03-14) (aged 74)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Known forGIF
AwardsWebby Lifetime Achievement[1]
Scientific career
FieldsComputer science
InstitutionsCompuServe, AOL

Stephen Earl Wilhite[2] (March 3, 1948 – March 14, 2022) was an American computer scientist who worked at CompuServe and was the engineering lead on the team that created the GIF image file format in 1987. GIF went on to become the de facto standard for 8-bit color images on the Internet until PNG (1996) became a widely supported alternative.[3] The format later became the subject of a patent assertion by Unisys on its use of the LZW compression algorithm.[3] Known as the inventor or creator of the GIF, Wilhite received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.[4]

  1. ^ "Special Achievement – Lifetime Achievement". International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  2. ^ Smith, Harrison (March 24, 2022). "Stephen Wilhite, computer programmer who created the GIF, dies at 74". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Confusion reigns on the Web over GIF patent claims". Network World. Vol. 12, no. 2. IDG Network World Inc. January 9, 1995. p. 126. ISSN 0887-7661.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gif was invoked but never defined (see the help page).