E-book Creator Dead at 64

E-book Creator Dead at 64

Michael Hart, famous for being the creator of e-books, has died in the age of 64. The man died Tuesday in his home at Urbana, Illinois. Through Hart’s efforts and dedication, he was able to successful created the first known e-book in July 1971. Despite his first invented e-book will always pale in comparison with today’s modern ones, it was the first step that resulted to e-books ultimate popularity and also the ultimate birth of Project Gutenberg.

In the early 70s, Hart was thankful when he was given a mainframe computer access while studying at the University of Illinois. It was his long desire to have that opportunity for something he really wanted to explore. The reality for e-book came while he was in a strange and odd place, a supermarket.

In 2002, Hart was interviewed about that special day while at the supermarket. While looking for something to eat, he happened to stop by seeing American Bicentennial and some historical documents in a grocery store. A U.S. Independence Declaration has caught his attention. He thought of something more than just typing the Independence Declaration but would make it still accessible to readers after 100 years. And it paved way for the Project Gutenberg.

The U.S. Declaration of Independence was the first online book out of the 36,000 online books and manual available for free at the online library of Project Gutenberg. Hart will always be remembered for his innovative mind that has left a mark in the world.

Posted by James Fried on Saturday September 10 2011, 2:06 PM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Nation. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0