Dave Farber Dies at Age 91
The mailing list for the North American Network Operators' Group discusses Internet infrastructure issues like routing, IP address allocation, and containing malicious activity. This morning there was another message:We are heartbroken to report that our colleague - our mentor, friend, and conscience - David J. Farber passed away suddenly at his home in Roppongi, Tokyo. He left us on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the too-young age of 91... Dave's career began with his education at Stevens Institute of Technology, which he loved deeply and served as a Trustee. He joined the legendary Bell Labs during its heyday, and worked at the Rand Corporation. Along the way, among countless other activities, he served as Chief Technologist of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission; became a proficient (instrument-rated) pilot; and was an active board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil-liberties organization. His professional accomplishments and impact are almost endless, but oftencaptured by one moniker: "grandfather of the Internet," acknowledging thefoundational contributions made by his many students at the University ofCalifornia, Irvine; the University of Delaware; the University ofPennsylvania; and Carnegie Mellon University. In 2018, at the age of 83, Dave moved to Japan to become DistinguishedProfessor at Keio University and Co-Director of the Keio Cyber CivilizationResearch Center (CCRC). He loved teaching, and taught his final class onJanuary 22, 2026... Dave thrived in Japan in every way... It's impossible to summarize a life and career as rich and long as Dave"sin our few words here. And each of us, even those who knew him for decades,represent just one facet of his life. But because we are here at its end,we have the sad duty of sharing this news. Farber once said that " At both Bell Labs and Rand, I had the privilege, at a young age, of working with and learning from giants in our field. Truly I can say (as have others) that I have done good things because I stood on the shoulders of those giants. In particular, I owe much to Dr. Richard Hamming, Paul Baran and George Mealy."
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