Engineers & Inventors · Head-to-head

Hedy Lamarr vs Tim Berners-Lee

Yes — based on their recorded years, Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000) and Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955) were alive at the same time for at least part of their lives.

Years1914–2000born 1955
CountryAustriaUnited Kingdom
RegionEuropeEurope
Known forActress and inventorComputer scientist
BornVienna, AustriaLondon, United Kingdom
DiedCasselberry, Florida, United StatesN/A

Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American film actress who also co-invented a radio guidance system during World War II, technology that later influenced the development of modern wireless communication.

Key achievements

  • Became a successful Hollywood film actress across the 1930s and 1940s.
  • Co-invented a frequency-hopping radio guidance system during World War II.
  • Was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
  • Her wartime invention influenced the later development of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology.

Fast fact

The frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology Lamarr co-invented during World War II, originally intended to guide torpedoes, later became foundational to modern technologies including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Full profile of Hedy Lamarr →

Tim Berners-Lee

Tim Berners-Lee is an English computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web in 1989, along with foundational web technologies including HTML, URLs, and HTTP.

Key achievements

  • Proposed the concept of the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN.
  • Created foundational web technologies including HTML, URLs, and HTTP.
  • Implemented the first successful communication between a web browser and server in 1990.
  • Chose not to patent his invention, allowing the World Wide Web to be freely used worldwide.

Fast fact

Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory, originally intending it as a way for researchers to share information more easily.

Full profile of Tim Berners-Lee →
Who lived first, Hedy Lamarr or Tim Berners-Lee?

Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000) lived first, before Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), based on their recorded years.

Were Hedy Lamarr and Tim Berners-Lee contemporaries?

Yes — based on their recorded years, Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000) and Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955) were alive at the same time for at least part of their lives.

What do Hedy Lamarr and Tim Berners-Lee have in common?

Both Hedy Lamarr and Tim Berners-Lee are grouped among our Engineers & Inventors figures and lived during the Modern Era.