Grandfather of the Internet David J. Farber dies at 91

Grandfather of the Internet David J. Farber, a computer science professor whose work and teaching helped shape the foundations of the modern internet, died on February 7 in Tokyo. He was 91. According to his son, Emanuel Farber, the cause of his death was heart failure. Farber had been teaching at Keio University in Japan since 2018. Over a career spanning several decades, he played a key role in bringing together computing and telecommunications, and mentored students who later became central figures in building the systems that power today’s global internet. He was often referred to as the “grandfather of the internet” for his influence on early networking research.David J. Farber began his career in the mid-1950s at Bell Laboratories, when computers largely operated in isolation and had limited ways to exchange information. His research helped move computing toward networked communication, a shift that later became the basis of the internet. The New York Times once described him as an early architect of the technology.After entering academia, Farber became known for guiding students who helped define the Internet Protocol (IP), which governs how data is sent across networks. In the early 1970s, he held regular discussions with doctoral student Jonathan Postel, meetings that helped shape key communication rules. Postel’s 1974 dissertation later influenced much of the early internet’s development.Another student, Paul Mockapetris, went on to help design the Domain Name System (DNS), which allows users to access websites using names instead of numerical addresses. Farber also worked with researchers and policymakers to secure government support for experimental computer networks.In 1977, Farber co-wrote a paper with engineer Paul Baran arguing that computers were becoming powerful enough to handle communication tasks. The paper anticipated the rise of email, messaging and other digital tools, and described computers as systems for human interaction rather than just calculation.