Stallman, Andreessen, Swartz among Internet Hall of Fame’s latest inductees

It’s easy to forget that there was a time before the internet, but everything we take for granted now: instant and affordable chat and video between people separated by the length of the planet, phones that can track our runs and the ability to get instant news updates from around the world comes off the back of seriously pioneering work.

The Internet Society has honoured 32 of those pioneers, including Netscape founder Marc Andreessen, Reddit co-founder online activist Aaron Swartz and software freedom activist Richard Stallman by inducting them into the Internet Hall of Fame.

“This year’s inductees represent a group of people as diverse and dynamic as the Internet itself,” noted Internet Society President and CEO Lynn St. Amour. “As some of the world’s leading thinkers, these individuals have pushed the boundaries of technological and social innovation to connect the world and make it a better place.”

The Internet Hall of Fame is an annual awards program that has been established by the Internet Society to publicly recognize a distinguished and select group of visionaries, leaders and luminaries who have made significant contributions to the development and advancement of the global internet.

According to the Internet Hall of Fame site, inductees fall into three categories: Pioneers “were integral to the early design of the internet”; Innovators “built on that foundation through technological, commercial or policy advances”; and Global Connectors “helped expand the internet’s growth and use around the world”.

The inductees are:

Pioneers

David Clark
Significant contributions to early Internet protocols and architecture

David Farber
Instrumental in developments of the early Internet; created the first operational Distributed Computer System

Howard Frank
Co-wrote proposal that won contract to design network structure for the ARPAnet

Kanchana Kanchanasut
Brought the Internet to Thailand

J.C.R. Licklider (posthumous)
Championed the vision of a world-wide computer network

Bob Metcalfe
Led the invention, standardization, and commercialization of the Ethernet

Jun Murai
Developed the first inter-university network in Japan and considered Father of the Internet in Japan

Kees Neggers
Instrumental in the development of the Internet in the Netherlands

Nii Quaynor
Pioneered Internet development and expansion throughout Africa

Glenn Ricart
Set up the first Internet Exchange Point

Robert Taylor
Leader in the development of modern computing technology and computer networks

Steve Wolff
Developed first open computer network in the U.S. to support research and higher education

Werner Zorn
Led team that created infrastructure to connect Germany to the Internet

Connectors

Karen Banks
Networking leader who used information and communications technologies and applications as tools for social change

Gihan Dias
Instrumental in establishing the academic Internet and first email system in Sri Lanka

Anriette Esterhuysen
Helped establish email and Internet connectivity in Southern Africa

Steve Goldstein
Guided the connection of approximately 25 countries to NSFNET, including those in Europe, Latin America and east Asia.

Teus Hagen
Initiated European Unix User Group and started EUnet

Ida Holz
Instrumental in development of first networks that underpinned the Internet in Latin America

Qiheng Hu
Led the NCFC project team to bring the Internet to mainland China

Haruhisa Ishida (posthumous)
Leader in introducing UNIX computing and internetworking to Japan

Barry Leiner (posthumous)
Envisioned and helped establish Internet Activities Board, which led the effort to set Internet technical standards

George Sadowsky
Aided in deployment of information technology to more than 50 developing countries

Innovators

Marc Andreessen
Co-authored the first widely-used browser, Mosaic, and co-founded Netscape

John Perry Barlow
Co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Francois Flückiger
Convened meeting that led to Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE), and contributed to the creation of the pan-European Internet backbone

Stephen Kent
A leader in the architecture of network security systems

Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder
Innovator in implementation of DNS Security Extensions technology and usage procedures

Henning Schulzrinne
Co-developed protocols that are used by almost all Internet telephony and multimedia applications

Richard Stallman
Founded the Free Software Foundation

Aaron Swartz (posthumous)
Co-authored version of RSS, co-owner of Reddit, and early architect of Creative Commons

Jimmy Wales
Fueled the user collaboration and sharing trend as founder of Wikipedia