Stephen Wilhite: Creator of the GIF dies from Covid-19 at age 74

Programmer once clarified that ‘jif’ was the correct pronunciation of his famous file format

The man who created the GIF has died from Covid-19 at the age of 74, his family has confirmed.

Stephen Wilhite came up with Graphics Interchange Format, which are now used for animated internet memes and jokes, when he worked for CompuServe in the 1980s.

“Even with all his accomplishments, he remained a very humble, kind, and good man,” his obituary reads.

In 2013, before he received a a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award, he told The New York Times that for years people had not been properly pronouncing the name of his creation.

“The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story,” he clarified.

Mr Wilhite came up with GIF at a time that CompuServe wanted to display things like colour weather maps in an era of slow dial-up internet speeds.

He worked on it for a month before the format was released in July 1987, according to the newspaper.

“He invented GIF all by himself — he actually did that at home and brought it into work after he perfected it,” his wife Kathaleen told The Verge.

“He would figure out everything privately in his head and then go to town programming it on the computer.”

She added that the GIF was the highlight of his career and that he was thrilled to receive the Webby Award.

“After 25 years, they finally honoured that achievement that he did,” she said.

Following his retirement in the early 2000s, Mr Wilhite built a house where he built model trains in the basement, and the couple enjoyed taking RV trips around the country.

“When we had the house built, we actually had a whole section in the basement for his train room. He always did the designs and electric work for the layout,” said his wife.