GIF creator Stephen Wilhite has passed away. He was 74 years old.
Wilhite worked at the online service provider CompuServe in the 1980s when he developed the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) in 1987. His obituary says that he was born on March 3, 1948, and passed away on March 14, 2022.
His wife told NPR that the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award winner had passed away from COVID-19 complications at a hospital near their home in Milford, Ohio. He is survived by his wife, Kathaleen, stepchildren Rick Groves, Robin Landrum, Renee Bennett, Rebecca Boaz, and son David.
Stephen Wilhite’s Wife Reveals Her Late Husband’s Favorite GIF
RIP Stephen Wilhite, creator of the GIF. This was the first GIF ever created in 1987. pic.twitter.com/gqtMBqEOdg
— Blade McG (@Blade__McG) March 23, 2022
The retired Chief Architect of America Online was reported to have created the GIF “all by himself,” according to Kathaleen. She told The Verge that he had first created the GIF at home before he brought it into work to perfect it.
“He actually did that at home and brought it into work after he perfected it,” she revealed. “He would figure out everything privately in his head and then go to town programming it on the computer.”
His obituary noted that he also loved traveling and camping. He had retired from his job at America Online in the early 2000s after suffering a stroke, but earned a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 for creating the GIF.
Although the first GIF he ever created was a picture of an airplane, his wife told the Times that his favorite GIF was that of the dancing baby, which was created in 1996.
During the interview with the Times, he also created a fierce online debate when he said that GIF should be responded with a soft ‘G’ to pronounce it like ‘jif’ instead of ‘gif.’
“The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations,” he said at the time. “They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story.”
Fans couldn’t help but poke fun at the pronunciation debate after he passed.
Fans Wish ‘Jodspeed’ To The Late GIF Creator Stephen Wilhite
Jodspeed https://t.co/Y008q29VLK
— Zito (@_Zeets) March 23, 2022
“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings was just one of many who retweeted “Jodspeed” after the announcement of his passing was made public.
R.I.P Stephen Wilhite. Your GIF’s made social media a fun place for people.🙏😥 pic.twitter.com/B4NwYl6FFB
— Richard Waldrup (@waldrup_richard) March 23, 2022
“R.I.P Stephen Wilhite. Your GIF’s made social media a fun place for people,” one fan tweeted.
The creator of the gif, Stephen Wilhite, has passed away. pic.twitter.com/uTZr85QxEA
— GameSpot (@GameSpot) March 24, 2022
Even GameSpot took to Twitter to express condolences for his passing.
The GIPHY team is sad to hear of the passing of Stephen Wilhite, the creator of the GIF file format.
GIPHY was built on a sincere love for the GIF — and we are indebted to the creativity and vision of Mr. Wilhite 💕 pic.twitter.com/CTPS895wCQ
— GIPHY (@GIPHY) March 23, 2022
GIPHY – who arguably would not exist without Wilhite’s work, tweeted, “The GIPHY team is sad to hear of the passing of Stephen Wilhite, the creator of the GIF file format. GIPHY was built on a sincere love for the GIF — and we are indebted to the creativity and vision of Mr. Wilhite 💕”
rip Stephen Wilhite #gif pic.twitter.com/u5oLqu22UB
— ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (@pixelastronaut) March 23, 2022
Other fans continued to poke fun at the pronunciation debate.
Rest in peace, Stephen.
Stephen Wilhite, the inventor of looping images called GIF, died at the age of 74.
Wilhite was a retired Chief Architect from America Online, and also a recipient of the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in New York. pic.twitter.com/sZcs10L2V5
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) March 24, 2022
The Philippine Star also created a thoughtful tribute to Wilhite, writing, “Rest in peace, Stephen. Stephen Wilhite, the inventor of looping images called GIF, died at the age of 74. Wilhite was a retired Chief Architect from America Online, and also a recipient of the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in New York.”
the man who created the GIF has passed away… age 74. he single handedly made the internet better. he literally invented the image format at HOME on his own time. dude is and should always be remembered. a legend. rest in peace. https://t.co/NMpnqGN8Xz
— Morlock (@PressStartLock) March 23, 2022
Other fans called him a “legend” who “made the internet better.” One fan wrote, “the man who created the GIF has passed away… age 74. he single handedly made the internet better. he literally invented the image format at HOME on his own time. dude is and should always be remembered. a legend. rest in peace.”
