Internet Activist, a Creator of RSS, Is Dead at 26, Apparently a Suicide

Aaron Swartz helped create RSS, a now ubiquitous format, and later became known for his efforts to make many Internet files available free online.

At 14, Mr. Swartz helped create RSS, the nearly ubiquitous tool that allows users to subscribe to online information. He later became an Internet folk hero, pushing to make many Web files free and open to the public. But in July 2011, he was indicted on federal charges of gaining illegal access to JSTOR, a subscription-only service for distributing scientific and literary journals, and downloading 4.8 million articles and documents, nearly the entire library.

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