Vint Cerf, who helped create the internet, has the coronavirus

Wikimedia, CC

Vint Cerf is one of the internet's founding fathers.

• Vint Cerf, the American computer scientist widely credited with co-creating the internet, has tested positive for COVID-19.
• Cerf, who currently serves as Google's chief internet evangelist, announced the news in a tweet Monday in which he said he was "recovering" from the disease.
• Numerous tech industry figures replied to the tweet with well-wishes, including several Google employees, while the DARPA's official Twitter account also wished him a speedy recovery.
• Along with fellow computer scientist Bob Kahn, the 76-year-old created the protocols fundamental to the modern internet.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Vint Cerf, the 76-year-old American computer scientist widely credited with co-creating the internet, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Cerf, who has worked for Google since 2005 and currently serves as its chief internet evangelist, announced the news in a tweet Monday.

"I tested positive for COVID-19 and am recovering," it read.

In the tweet, Cerf also linked to a video of comedian John Oliver, in which the "Last Week Tonight" host criticized Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Numerous tech industry figures replied to the tweet with well-wishes, including the senior vice president at Google AI, Jeff Dean, and Julia Ferraioli, a senior developer advocate for Google Cloud Platform.

The Twitter account of one of Cerf's earliest employers, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also wished him a quick return to full health.

Along with fellow computer scientist Bob Kahn, Cerf wrote the protocols that would lay the groundwork for the modern internet.

Known for his unusually formal attire - unusual in the tech industry, at least - Cerf has since worked in numerous roles, both advisory and humanitarian.

Startlingly, he has also warned that a century's worth of digital content like photos and emails could be lost if the programs needed to view them become defunct.

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I tested positive for COVID-19 and am recovering. Listen to what John Oliver has to say about our national response so far: https://t.co/Adgiy3Z9NA

- vinton g cerf (@vgcerf) March 30, 2020

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