Robert Cailliau
Belgian engineer who co-developed the World Wide Web at CERN
- Age
- 79 yrs
- Birthday in 82 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Book
- Honours
- 3
- Most recent 2012
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Robert Cailliau is a Belgian informatics engineer who worked with Tim Berners-Lee at CERN to develop and promote the World Wide Web. He co-wrote the 1990 proposal, built an early browser for the Macintosh and organised the first international web conference in 1994.
Biography
Background
Cailliau studied electrical and mechanical engineering at Ghent University and computer science at the University of Michigan. He joined CERN in 1974 to work on accelerator control systems.
The web proposal
In 1990 he joined Tim Berners-Lee in refining and promoting the WorldWideWeb proposal within CERN, winning resources for the project.
Spreading the web
He worked on MacWWW, an early browser for the Apple Macintosh, and helped persuade CERN to release the web technology royalty-free in 1993. He organised the first International WWW Conference at CERN in May 1994.
Later life
Cailliau left CERN in 2007. He was made a Commander of the Order of Leopold in 2004 and co-wrote How the Web Was Born (2000).
Timeline
-
1947
Born in Tongeren, Belgium
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1974
Joins CERN
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1990
Joins the web project
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1993
CERN releases the web royalty-free
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1994
First WWW Conference
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1995
ACM Software System Award
-
2007
Retires from CERN
Notable works
-
2000
How the Web Was Born Book
With James Gillies.
Awards and honours
-
ACM Software System Award
1995
-
Commander of the Order of Leopold
2004
-
Internet Hall of Fame
2012
Did you know?
-
1
He co-wrote the 1990 web proposal with Tim Berners-Lee.
-
2
He worked at CERN for more than 30 years.
-
3
He received the Software System Award jointly with Tim Berners-Lee.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Robert Cailliau?
Robert Cailliau is a Belgian informatics engineer who worked with Tim Berners-Lee at CERN to develop and promote the World Wide Web. He co-wrote the 1990 proposal, built an early browser for the Macintosh and organised the first international web conference in 1994.
How old is Robert Cailliau?
Robert Cailliau is 79 years old, born on 26 January 1947 in Tongeren, Belgium.
Where is Robert Cailliau from?
Robert Cailliau was born in Tongeren, Belgium.
What is Robert Cailliau known for?
Robert Cailliau is best known for Co-proposing and promoting the World Wide Web with Tim Berners-Lee; first web conference.
What awards has Robert Cailliau received?
Notable honours include ACM Software System Award (1995), Commander of the Order of Leopold (2004), Internet Hall of Fame (2012).
References
- Robert Cailliau — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.cailliau.org. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Robert Cailliau (Q92749) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Robert Cailliau”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Robert Cailliau.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/robert-cailliau
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