Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web: what he invented
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web at CERN in 1989; the Web is not the same thing as the internet.
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web at CERN in 1989; the Web is not the same thing as the internet.
The documented invention
CERN dates Berners-Lee’s Web proposal to March 1989. It records a subsequent proposal with Robert Cailliau in November 1990 and a working browser and server by the end of that year. CERN’s history describes a system intended to help scientists share information.
Web and internet are different terms
The internet supplies connectivity between computer networks. The Web uses that connectivity to provide linked documents and resources reached through browsers. An analogy for revision is a transport network and a particular service using it: the network and service are related, but their names do not describe the same thing.
Why links are central
CERN describes the combination of computers, networks and hypertext. A hyperlink lets a reader move from one resource to another. On a sourced article, that ability has a practical consequence: you can inspect the original evidence rather than accepting the article’s summary without checking.
Answer an exam question accurately
For “Who invented the World Wide Web?”, name Tim Berners-Lee and connect the answer to CERN and 1989. For “Who invented the internet?”, this profile does not supply an equivalent single-person answer. Treat different questions separately instead of expanding a correct Web fact into an unsupported claim.
Publication disclosure
This article was researched and published with AI assistance. No human prepublication review is claimed. Report factual errors through our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Did Berners-Lee invent the internet?
This profile documents his invention of the World Wide Web. The Web and the internet are different.