Steve Crocker
Internet pioneer who wrote the first Request for Comments
- Age
- 82 yrs
- Birthday in 343 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Document
- Honours
- 2
- Most recent 2012
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Steve Crocker is an American internet pioneer who, as a UCLA graduate student, wrote RFC 1 in April 1969 and created the Request for Comments system used to document internet standards. He later chaired ICANN’s board from 2011 to 2017.
Biography
UCLA
Crocker studied at UCLA, where he and his school friend Vint Cerf were among the graduate students in Leonard Kleinrock’s lab working on the ARPANET.
RFC 1
He led the informal Network Working Group that designed the host-to-host protocols. To avoid sounding authoritative, he called the notes “Requests for Comments”; RFC 1, “Host Software”, appeared on 7 April 1969. The RFC series now numbers more than 9,000 documents.
Security and DNS
Crocker later worked at DARPA, Aerospace Corporation and in industry, focusing on internet security and DNSSEC.
ICANN
He chaired ICANN’s board of directors from 2011 to 2017 and was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2012.
Timeline
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1944
Born in Pasadena, California, United States
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1968
Network Working Group forms
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1969
Writes RFC 1
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1971
Joins DARPA
-
2002
IEEE Internet Award
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2011
ICANN board chair
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2012
Internet Hall of Fame
-
2017
Steps down as ICANN chair
Notable works
-
1969
RFC 1: Host Software Document
Awards and honours
-
IEEE Internet Award
2002
-
Internet Hall of Fame
2012
Did you know?
-
1
He wrote RFC 1 at night in a bathroom so as not to wake his housemates.
-
2
He and Vint Cerf went to the same high school.
-
3
The RFC name was meant to sound modest.
Connections
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Frequently asked
Who is Steve Crocker?
Steve Crocker is an American internet pioneer who, as a UCLA graduate student, wrote RFC 1 in April 1969 and created the Request for Comments system used to document internet standards. He later chaired ICANN’s board from 2011 to 2017.
How old is Steve Crocker?
Steve Crocker is 82 years old, born on 15 October 1944 in Pasadena, California, United States.
Where is Steve Crocker from?
Steve Crocker was born in Pasadena, California, United States.
What is Steve Crocker known for?
Steve Crocker is best known for RFC 1 (1969); the Network Working Group; ICANN chair.
What awards has Steve Crocker received?
Notable honours include IEEE Internet Award (2002), Internet Hall of Fame (2012).
References
- Steve Crocker — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Steve Crocker (Q3178997) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Steve Crocker”, 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
“Steve Crocker.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/steve-crocker
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