Bob Kahn is often called the “father of the Internet” along with Vint Cerf. The pair are credited with co-designing TCP/IP, the foundational protocol suite that allows different computer networks to communicate.
Kahn’s contribution began at ARPANET, where he worked on the architecture of a packet-switched network. He recognized that networks with different technologies needed a common way to exchange data. At DARPA, he developed the concept of open-architecture networking, while Cerf helped formulate the protocols that became TCP/IP.
Their 1974 paper, “A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication,” described important ideas behind internetworking. TCP handles reliable transport and the division and reassembly of data, while IP provides addressing and routing across interconnected networks. In practice, the Internet developed through the work of many researchers, including Leonard Kleinrock, Paul Baran, Donald Davies, and Jon Postel.
Kahn and Cerf received the 2004 ACM Turing Award and the 2005 Presidential Medal of Freedom for their contributions. The shared title recognizes their central role without implying that either person created the entire Internet alone.