GIF Inventor Dies From Covid-19 Complications, Twitter Responds With a Torrent of GIF Tributes A brief history of the GIF's evolution and how it's pronounced, according to the creator himself.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
GIF creator Steve Wilhite has died at the age of 74 after contracting Covid-19, NPR reports. According to his wife Kathaleen Wilhite, her husband contracted the virus on March 1 and was later hospitalized, passing away on March 14.
Wilhite's wife told NPR her husband had a lifelong passion for tinkering with his creations and computer programming, which continued in the weeks leading up to his diagnosis. It was 1987 when Wilhite developed the "Graphics Interchange Format" (GIF) while working at CompuServe. In a rare interview via Facebook in 2012, he told the Daily Dot, "I think the first GIF was a picture of a plane. It was a long time ago."
The GIF is 30 years old today. Here is the first ever gif (pronounced (jif) #gif #firstgif #happybirthdaygif pic.twitter.com/MxxbuFO34A
— Doug McKenzie (@dougmckenzie) June 15, 2017
The GIF was revolutionary at its time, when internet speeds were much slower than they are today. The technology's compressed format enabled the more efficient transfer of images, and an animation feature was added to an updated version. When AOL purchased CompuServe in 1998 and let the GIF's patent expire, GIFs proliferated in every corner of the internet — on MySpace pages in the 2000s and Tumblr sites in the 2010s — becoming ubiquitous enough that its very pronunciation was up for hot debate, though Wilhite himself confirmed that it's pronounced "JIF" with a soft "G."
Wilhite received a lifetime achievement award from the Webby Awards in 2013, and today, GIFs continue to play a significant role in digital culture.
Related: How Do You Pronounce GIF? It Depends on Where You Live.
Jason Reed, the art director at the Daily Dot, told NPR via the Signal messaging service, "Without the .gif, the internet as we know it would be a different place. It's a tight medium that you can learn alot about storytelling within, especially tuned for the attention span of the internet."
In response to Wilhite's passing, Twitter users flooded the platform with GIF tributes to the man who started it all.
Users honored Wilhite with massive GIF compilations.
The only way to honor the passing of the man who invented the GIF.https://t.co/81U4Q4t91M#StephenWilhite pic.twitter.com/QRQt48gBYY
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) March 24, 2022
Others stressed the accurate pronunciation of "GIF," quoting Wilhite's Webby's acceptance speech.
Rest in Peace Stephen Wilhite
— Anjee W (@Anjeew) March 24, 2022
Creator of the GIF...
Thank You #StephenWilhite without you #Twitter would be boring! pic.twitter.com/7RCZAb2TOS
Though others continued to stir the pot.
Lost a legend and creator. #StephenWilhite pic.twitter.com/q7LdooWGrY
— Nicholas Smith (@realnickelass) March 24, 2022
Some users got particularly creative with artisitic renditions of the beloved programmer.
Rest In Peace to an incredible innovator within the web space! #StephenWilhite https://t.co/NQpLjSz12g pic.twitter.com/DJC18v0e0v
— VINCE VAN (@VinceJVan) March 23, 2022
While others put together dazzling montages.
I use his genius invention everyday, we all do !!!
— Dr.Satoshi (@wedissectstuffs) March 24, 2022
ThankYou Sir!!! for wat u have left for US!!#StephenWilhite #restinparadise pic.twitter.com/p5DwClSGTM
Some admitted that it took Wilhite's passing to put a name to the inventor behind the technology that had changed so many lives.
Today I learned the death of the inventor of the Graphic Interchange Format, better known as #GIF (pronounced soft « G »).
— David Navarro (@12SDN91) March 24, 2022
It took his death for me to learn his name. What a shame.
Thank you #StephenWilhite for making our hard lives less burdensome and more entertaining. #RIP pic.twitter.com/QLeg7HWYc2
And still others called for users to post their favorite GIFs in honor of the creator.
#StephenWilhite, the inventor of the #GIF has died.
— Mike Kakuk (@radiomike519) March 23, 2022
In honour, post your favourite gif! https://t.co/nhK5DnHyzy pic.twitter.com/RwlWnyaB51
