Steve Wilhite, widely known for inventing the GIF format in 1987, died on March 14th at the age of 74, Stephen’s wife Kathaleen just verified the news.
Wilhite died on March 14th as a result of post-Covid-19 problems, although the news was not made public until March 23rd.
GIF was first created in 1987 and has since become one of the most popular formats for sharing images and memes on the internet.
The GIF’s first compressed format allowed images to be transferred more effectively over slow modem connections in the 1980s.
The animation feature, on the other hand, was added later via an improved version of the GIF file format.
Wilhite worked for CompuServe until 2001, when he retired due to a stroke. However, when CompuServe was acquired by American Internet (AOL), a New York-based online service provider, in 1998, the GIF patents expired and the format became available to the public.
Steve could be seen in his model-train room adjusting his designs and computer programming in the weeks preceding up to March 1st, according to Kathaleen.
Kathaleen, who had also contracted COVID-19, had Steve transported to a hospital in Milford, Ohio, where he was given antibiotics before being placed in intensive care, where he was eventually placed in a coma.
On March 14th, Kathaleen received a phone call from the hospital informing her of Steve’s death.
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