Tim Berners-Lee at The Brattle Theatre

Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome Sir Tim Berners-Lee—inventor of the World Wide Web—for a discussion of his new memoir This Is for Everyone: The Unfinished Story of the World Wide Web.

There are two ticket options for this event.

1. Book-Included Tickets: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of This Is for Everyone pre-signed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.2. Admission-Only Tickets: Includes admission for one.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

A gripping account of the rise of the digital world and a crucial guide to the future of the internet—from the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Perhaps the most influential inventor of the modern world, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is a different kind of technologist. Born in the same year as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, he famously distributed his invention, the World Wide Web, for no commercial reward. Its widespread adoption changed everything—transforming humanity into the first digital species. Through the web, we live, work, dream, quarrel, and connect.In this intimate memoir, Berners-Lee tells the story of his iconic invention, exploring how it launched a new era of creativity and collaboration while unleashing powerful forces that imperil truth and privacy and polarize public debate. With his trademark humor and candor, he recounts how he arrived at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, as a young engineer, and soon came up with the astonishing idea of adding hyperlinks to the then-nascent Internet. His goal was to unleash a wave of creativity and collaboration for the benefit of all—a goal he’s pursued to this day.Peppered with rich anecdotes and amusing reflections, This Is for Everyone is a gripping, in-the-room account of the rise of the digital world. As the rapid development of artificial intelligence brings new risks and possibilities, Berners-Lee also offers a crucial guide to the decisions ahead—and shows how our digital lives can be reengineered for the sake of human flourishing rather than profit or for power.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 at CERN in Switzerland. Since then, through his work with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Open Data Institute (ODI), the World Wide Web Foundation; through the development of the Solid protocol; and now as CTO and cofounder of Inrupt, he has been a tireless advocate for shared standards, open web access for all, and the empowerment of individuals on the web. A firm believer in the positive power of technology, he was named in Time magazine’s list of the most important people of the twentieth century. He has been the recipient of several awards, including the Seoul Peace Prize and the Turing Prize, widely recognized as the Nobel Prize for Computing. He was knighted in 2004 and later appointed to the Order of Merit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.

The Harvard Science Book Talks series is a collaboration between the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and Harvard Book Store. The series features talks by the authors of recently published books on a variety of science-related topics and is open to both the Harvard community and to the general public. Learn more and watch recordings of past talks here.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge, United States