Dave Farber Dies at Age 91 (seclists.org) 17
The mailing list for the North American Network Operators' Group discusses Internet infrastructure issues like routing, IP address allocation, and containing malicious activity. This morning there was another message:
We are heartbroken to report that our colleague — our mentor, friend, and conscience — David J. Farber passed away suddenly at his home in Roppongi, Tokyo. He left us on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the too-young age of 91...
Dave's career began with his education at Stevens Institute of Technology, which he loved deeply and served as a Trustee. He joined the legendary Bell Labs during its heyday, and worked at the Rand Corporation. Along the way, among countless other activities, he served as Chief Technologist of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission; became a proficient (instrument-rated) pilot; and was an active board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil-liberties organization.
His professional accomplishments and impact are almost endless, but often captured by one moniker: "grandfather of the Internet," acknowledging the foundational contributions made by his many students at the University of California, Irvine; the University of Delaware; the University of Pennsylvania; and Carnegie Mellon University. In 2018, at the age of 83, Dave moved to Japan to become Distinguished Professor at Keio University and Co-Director of the Keio Cyber Civilization Research Center (CCRC). He loved teaching, and taught his final class on January 22, 2026... Dave thrived in Japan in every way...
It's impossible to summarize a life and career as rich and long as Dave"s in our few words here. And each of us, even those who knew him for decades, represent just one facet of his life. But because we are here at its end, we have the sad duty of sharing this news.
Farber once said that " At both Bell Labs and Rand, I had the privilege, at a young age, of working with and learning from giants in our field. Truly I can say (as have others) that I have done good things because I stood on the shoulders of those giants. In particular, I owe much to Dr. Richard Hamming, Paul Baran and George Mealy."
Dave's career began with his education at Stevens Institute of Technology, which he loved deeply and served as a Trustee. He joined the legendary Bell Labs during its heyday, and worked at the Rand Corporation. Along the way, among countless other activities, he served as Chief Technologist of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission; became a proficient (instrument-rated) pilot; and was an active board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil-liberties organization.
His professional accomplishments and impact are almost endless, but often captured by one moniker: "grandfather of the Internet," acknowledging the foundational contributions made by his many students at the University of California, Irvine; the University of Delaware; the University of Pennsylvania; and Carnegie Mellon University. In 2018, at the age of 83, Dave moved to Japan to become Distinguished Professor at Keio University and Co-Director of the Keio Cyber Civilization Research Center (CCRC). He loved teaching, and taught his final class on January 22, 2026... Dave thrived in Japan in every way...
It's impossible to summarize a life and career as rich and long as Dave"s in our few words here. And each of us, even those who knew him for decades, represent just one facet of his life. But because we are here at its end, we have the sad duty of sharing this news.
Farber once said that " At both Bell Labs and Rand, I had the privilege, at a young age, of working with and learning from giants in our field. Truly I can say (as have others) that I have done good things because I stood on the shoulders of those giants. In particular, I owe much to Dr. Richard Hamming, Paul Baran and George Mealy."
"Grandfather" checks out (Score:5, Informative)
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"He's like Godzilla the Hun."
A Dave Farber story (Score:5, Interesting)
"Instead, he got kind of serious, and said, 'Well, no, he didn't create the internet, and I think he's been quoted out of context, but he was absolutely responsible for creating the legislative environment that allowed that type of research to be done, and lead to the creation of the internet.'" [theregister.com]
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Yes, Al Gore did not say he "invented" the internet. Here's what he actually said:
During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. -- Al Gore
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Okay, so maybe Al Gore didn't invent the internet... but he DID invent the environment [youtu.be].
AND he has ridden the mighty Moon Worm.
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Are you being super serial?
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Gore never said he invented the Internet. This came from a story by Declan McCullagh in Wired News, mocking Gore for taking credit for the success of the Internet. Gore did deserve credit for his role in supporting the early development of the Internet and was practically the only member of Congress paying attention to the Internet in the early days, when it was primarily an academic/government network.
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Dave will be missed (Score:4, Insightful)
Dave was a good guy, a kind person with a big heart, and someone who wanted the Internet to work well and benefit society. Dave's interesting people email list was pretty influential at one point. Dave had a type of soft authority, that people paid attention to, because of his combination of technical knowledge, altruistic motives and common sense.
So ... (Score:2)
someone who wanted the Internet to work well and benefit society
Dave's students are a who's who of the Internet (Score:5, Interesting)
We have lost a giant. And I can only hope that everyone will take the time not just to pay their respects, but to read what he wrote, and listen to what he said, and to try to learn as much as they can from a man who made all this possible.
Could've included the link to the actual archives. (Score:2)
Loss of a legend (Score:4, Insightful)
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I was in his class for two semesters. It must have been very soon after he moved from U. Delaware to Penn. Being the ignorant person I was, I had no idea who he was!
I remember around that time attending a demonstration from NeXT Computer which IIRC was held in Professor Farber's lab space.
Easily my most memorable professor at Penn (Score:4, Funny)
I had a seminar class with Farber which was literally 10-12 of us sitting at his feet twice a week. It was fantastic.
One of his many stories I recall: He was in Japan in the early 80's and found a "copy" of Lotus 1-2-3 in a store for something like $10 (retail was $500, $1500 in today's dollars) and his traveling companion thought it was hilarious so they bought a copy. The companion was of course, Mitch Kapor.
Sorry to see him go (Score:2)
Dave was very supportive as the Internet began to grow in Japan in the 90s and a positive influence for many. He traveled here often and was greatly respected.