The creator of the GIF, Stephen Wilhite, has passed away
The Verge, his wife explained that Wilhite passed away due to COVID, but she added that he was surrounded by his family when he died.The GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) wasn’t actually created for the thing it’s mostly used for in the modern era. Instead of internet memes, Wilhite invented the format as a solo project to create high quality visuals in colour, back when the internet speeds weren’t conducive to sending enormous files.His wife, Kathaleen, told The Verge, “He invented GIF all by himself — he actually did that at home and brought it into work after he perfected it.