Robert Cailliau Belgian IT engineer and scientist Date of Birth: 26.01.1947 Country: Belgium

1. Robert Cailliau: The Co-Inventor of the World Wide Web
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career at CERN
4. The Birth of the World Wide Web
5. Global Impact
6. Later Career and Retirement
7. Current Activities

Robert Cailliau: The Co-Inventor of the World Wide Web

Robert Cailliau, a Belgian computer scientist and engineer, played a pivotal role in the development of the World Wide Web (WWW) alongside British computer scientist and inventor Tim Berners-Lee.

Early Life and Education

Born on January 26, 1947, in Tongeren, Belgium, Cailliau moved to Antwerp with his family in 1958. After completing his schooling, he studied engineering at Ghent University, graduating in 1969. He subsequently pursued a Master's degree in computer science at the University of Michigan in the United States, which he obtained in 1971.

Career at CERN

During his compulsory military service in the Belgian army, Cailliau developed FORTRAN programs that simulated the movement of enemy troops. In December 1974, he joined CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's largest particle physics laboratory. As a research fellow, Cailliau worked in the department that operated the proton synchrotron, a particle accelerator, and was responsible for the accelerator's control system.

In April 1987, Cailliau left his department to head the computer systems office in the data handling division.

The Birth of the World Wide Web

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee proposed a hypertext system for accessing different forms of documentation and contacted CERN. Berners-Lee created a system, which he named the World Wide Web, between September and December 1990. During this period, Cailliau and Berners-Lee collaborated to develop a proposal to secure funding for the project.

Cailliau became a key advocate for the project and, in collaboration with Nicola Pellow, developed the first web browser for Mac OS, 'MacWWW', also known as 'Samba'.

Global Impact

In 1993, Cailliau partnered with the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, a German research organization, to work on the European Commission's first web project, WISE. Following negotiations with CERN's legal services, CERN made the web technologies publicly available on April 30, 1993.

In December 1993, Cailliau convened the first international WWW conference, which took place at CERN in May 1994. The conference brought together 380 pioneers in web technology and became a milestone in the evolution of the Internet as we know it. One outcome of the conference was the creation of the International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee, which has since organized yearly conferences. Cailliau served on the Steering Committee from 1994 to 2004.

Later Career and Retirement

In 1994, Cailliau launched the 'Web for Schools' project with the European Commission, promoting the Internet as a unique educational resource. After the web developments were transferred from CERN to the World Wide Web Consortium with Cailliau's assistance, he focused on public relations. Cailliau took early retirement in January 2007.

Current Activities

Now in his late 70s, Cailliau is an active member of the Newropeans, a European political movement founded in 2005.