"3. Sir Tim Berners-Lee
"Iain Thomson: It is not an exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for Berners-Lee you might not be reading this article.
"Berners-Lee, while at CERN, developed the basic protocols of the World Wide Web, initially just for internal use. But when the brilliance of the invention became clear he devoted his life to its growth and spread, even if he did make a few mistakes along the way (see Geek 5).
"Had he patented his invention Berners-Lee would probably have wealth equalling that of a small country. Instead he gave it away, recognising that profiting from something like this would inhibit the growth of a technology that had the potential to revolutionise human affairs."
