Downloading on the World Wide Web is fundamentally linked to the invention of the Web itself by Tim Berners-Lee, who created the first web browser, server, and protocols like HTTP in 1989-1990. His work laid the groundwork for how information, including downloadable files, is transferred over the Internet using the Web's architecture.
While Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, which includes the capability to access and download content through browsers and servers, additional improvements to downloading as a feature were contributed by others. For example, Peter Lenahan contributed to the HTTP/1.1 protocol discussions that enhanced the downloading experience by making it faster and more reliable with features like persistent connections and better caching. However, HTTP/1.1 improved the process rather than inventing the concept of downloading itself.
In summary, the core creation of downloading on the World Wide Web is attributed to Tim Berners-Lee's invention of the Web and its protocols, with later contributions such as those from Peter Lenahan enhancing the efficiency of downloading.