The man who invented the GIF, Stephen Wilhite, has passed away.
The Verge spoke to his wife, Kathaleen, and she confirmed that he died of complications from COVID last week.
There is an obituary page setup for Wilhite that is filled with messages from friends, family, and even people who did not know him personally, but loved his work.
The page says, “even with all his accomplishments, he remained a very humble, kind, and good man.”
In 2013, he won a lifetime achievement award from the Webby Awards for his contribution to online culture. In his acceptance speech, he revealed that GIF is pronounced like the peanut butter, JIF. You can watch that below or over on YouTube.
Wilhite was 74 years-old.
Photo: Getty Images