Biography
Vint Cerf
- Born
- 23 June 1943
- Nationality
- American
- Known for
- Co-designing the TCP/IP protocols, A father of the internet
Vint Cerf helped build the plumbing of the internet. In the 1970s, working with Bob Kahn, he designed TCP/IP, the set of protocols that lets separate computer networks join together and pass data reliably from one to another. Because those protocols are what turn many networks into one internet, Cerf and Kahn are widely called the fathers of the internet.
The problem they solved was connection. By the early 1970s there were several computer networks, but they could not talk to each other. Cerf and Kahn worked out a common set of rules, splitting the job in two: the Internet Protocol moves small packets of data between machines, and the Transmission Control Protocol makes sure those packets arrive complete and in the right order. The design was deliberately open, so anyone could build on it, which is a large part of why the internet grew so freely.
Cerf has stayed close to the network he helped create, working on its standards and governance for decades and, more recently, as an executive at Google. He shared the Turing Award with Bob Kahn in 2004.
Frequently asked
What did Vint Cerf invent?
With Bob Kahn, he designed TCP/IP in the 1970s, the core set of protocols that lets different computer networks connect into a single internet. This work is why the two are often called the fathers of the internet.
Is Vint Cerf the inventor of the internet?
No single person invented the internet, but Cerf and Bob Kahn designed the protocols that made it one connected network, so they are widely credited as its fathers. The World Wide Web, which runs on the internet, was a separate later invention by Tim Berners-Lee.
What is TCP/IP?
TCP/IP is the pair of protocols that lets data travel reliably across many linked networks. IP moves packets between machines, and TCP makes sure they arrive complete and in order. Together they are the language the internet is built on.