Why Michael S. Hart is considered a person who changed information technology?

The history of information technology cannot be complete without the name of Michael S. Hart. He was the founder of the first e-book, as well as the Project Gutenberg (PG), the first attempt to make e-books freely available on the internet. The project was named after Johannes Gutenberg, the 15th century inventor of the printing press.

Hart’s efforts to build a digital platform began in 1971 with the digitalization of the US Declaration of Independence while at the University of Illinois.

Hart published e-books through the ARPANET, and played a key role in digitalizing literature too. In his digital library (PG) were posted classics including the Bible, and works of Homer, Shakespeare and Mark Twain? His invention thus paved the way for modern e-books.

On September 6th, 2011, Hart died of a heart attack, at the age of 64.