Creator of the GIF passes away at age 74 as tributes flood Twitter

STEVE Wilhite, creator of the looping image or soundless video known as the GIF, has died.

He died on March 14, just days after turning 74, according to an obituary.

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Wilhite was the former Chief Architect of America Online. He began his career at Compuserve, the first major online service provider.

It was during his time there that he created the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF).

GIFs were made to compress images for easier accessibility with early modem speeds.

But it wasn’t until the 2010s that GIFs exploded and became a mainstay in internet culture.

Today, GIFs are often used to convey emotions and have been used to capture iconic moments in pop culture.

GIF was named Oxford American Dictionaries’ word of the year in 2012.

In 2013, Wilhite settled the dispute on the the pronunciation of GIF, saying it’s similar to that of Jif peanut butter.

In addition to his internet contributions, Wilhite is the recipient of the 2013 Webby Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wilhite retired in the early 2000s and loved camping and travelling, according to an obituary.

The cause of death was Covid, his wife Kathaleen confirmed. He is survived by four stepchildren, a son, 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Tributes continue to flood Twitter in honor of Wilhite and his contributions to internet culture.

“In honor of his memory, we must all come together to start pronouncing GIF with a soft G like the peanut butter brand “Jiff”. Rest In Peace, sweet prince. Your contributions to society will be remembered forever,” wrote one Twitter user.

“R.I.P. Steve Wilhite. Really enjoyed knowing you and working with/for you. Loved this quote from your wikipedia page: “They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story,” tweeted John Endres.

“Rest in peace #SteveWilhite. Your contributions to computer science and the invention of the #GIF have brought laughter and joy to the entire world. I will always respect your wishes for it be a soft G,” wrote another.

“Aw, that’s sad Steve Wilhite died. I remember making my first ever GIF in Microsoft GIF Animator in the late ’90s. Stick-figure frames I drew myself in Microsoft Paint. Good times,” another user said.