Michael Hart

Born in Tacoma, Washington, on March 8, 1947, Michael S. Hart was an American author and digital publishing pioneer. He studied at the University of Illinois and is widely credited with inventing the e-book.

In 1971, after gaining access to a powerful university computer network, he began Project Gutenberg by typing in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and sharing it electronically. That simple act grew into one of the earliest and most influential online literary projects, built around the idea that public-domain books should be easy for anyone to read and download.

Hart spent decades promoting free access to literature and helping shape the idea of the digital library. He died in Urbana, Illinois, on September 6, 2011, but Project Gutenberg remains one of the clearest examples of his lasting influence.