The SciencesMarch 1, 1997
Preserving the Internet
An archive of the Internet may prove
to be a vital record for historians,
businesses and governments
Stories by Brewster Kahle
BREWSTER KAHLE founded the Internet Archive in April 1996. He invented the Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS) system in 1989 and started a company, WAIS, Inc., in 1992 to commercialize this Internet publishing software. The company helped to bring commercial and government agencies onto the Internet by selling publishing tools and production services. Kahle also served as a principal designer of the Connection Machine, a supercomputer produced by Thinking Machines. He received a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982.