Tim Berners-Lee

Who Is Tim Berners-Lee?

Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955) is a British computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web — and then gave it away for free so everyone could use it.

In 1989, Tim was working at CERN (a big science laboratory) and noticed a problem: scientists couldn't easily share information with each other. So Tim invented the World Wide Web — a way for computers to share pages of information across the internet.

Tim could have kept his invention secret and sold it to make himself very rich. But he didn't. He gave it to the world for free because he believed information should be available to everyone.

Thanks to Tim's generosity, anyone with a computer can access billions of web pages — including the one you're reading right now!

Berners-Lee's lesson for children: Sometimes the best thing you can do with a great idea is share it with everyone, not keep it for yourself.

What Can Children Learn from Tim Berners-Lee?

Teaching Tim Berners-Lee to KS1 Children

Age-Appropriate Focus

For ages 5-7, focus on Tim's generosity and sharing rather than technical web architecture. Children this age understand "sharing something you made so everyone can enjoy it".

Real-World Applications

• Sharing your toys or games with friends at school
• Teaching someone a skill you learned
• Making something (art, Lego creation) for others to enjoy
• Choosing to share even when you could keep something for yourself

Fun Facts for KS1

• Tim built his first computer out of an old television when he was at university
• The first website ever was about the World Wide Web project itself
• Tim was knighted by the Queen in 2004 — he's now "Sir Tim"
• He still works to make the web fair and open for everyone
• The web and the internet are different things — Tim invented the web!