GIF Inventor Stephen Wilhite Has Died at 74

The inventor of the GIF, the moving pictures we all find enjoyable, has passed away. As pointed out by the Verge, computer scientist Stephen Wilhite died March 14 in Ohio at age 74. His passing came more than 30 years after he created the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file while working at online service provider CompuServe. The GIF would go on to transform the digital culture, and is still used for animated memes. Per the Verge, who spoke to his wife Kathaleen R. Wilhite, Stephen died from COVID-19.