A great and lovely man passed away on 27th
August.
If it hadn't been for Michael there would not probably have been a World Wide Web Consortium. When in 1993 I was looking for an environment which could nurture a new community, I was passed Michael's name, and struck a spring of enthusiasm, capability, insight, and experience which drove a crazy half-formed idea into an international reality.
Michael met me first in Switzerland, and later invited me to the LCS. He was totally enthusiastic about the idea of the Web, of the Consortium, and of making the whole thing an international collaboration. Michael had been promoting the vision of the Information Marketplace long before the Web came along. He put in a huge amount of effort to make things happen, but always did it with great warmth as well as strength.
One memorable moment of many was the time early on in W3C's history when I and the small team had a number of unsolved questions and were frankly quite adrift with the rapid growth and external changes. Michael took us in hand, and briskly facilitated one dramatic eight hour meeting after which the mission, goals and structure of the team was in place, and everything looked at once logical and possible.
Personally, I have found that Michael's strength of leadership, clarity of thought and warmth of heart have been a constant support, nourishment and inspiration during my time at LCS.
Everyone who has known him will sorely miss his presence in the world.
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