Stephen Wilhite, the creator of GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format), the popular looping animated images, passed away at the age of 74 following a battle with COVID-19. Stephen's wife Kathleen told CNN that a stroke he had a few years ago had weakened his right lung.
Wilhite created the GIF in 1987 while working as a developer at online service provider CompuServe, as he and his team figured out how to compress images, which were still at first. The very first GIF was of an animated airplane flying through the sky. Around 1995, GIFs started gaining popularity, and with the rise of social media and smart phones, they have become a new way to convey messages.
After having a stroke in 2000, Wilhite retired in 2001, and he stayed out of the public eye for many years until he was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Webbys in 2013 (shown above). Instead of a speech, Wilhite presented a GIF soundtracked to Strauss's "Also sprach Zarathustra," which read, "IT'S PRONOUNCED 'JIF' NOT 'GIF.'"
Source: CNN
