I'd say the web actually started in 1989 however did not gain public access and knowledge till early 1990's. By 1996 it was a pretty common-ground for the users to explore and communitcate.
The thing that really made the World Wide Web workable was an early web browser called ViolaWWW. It was soon replaced by the Mosaic web browser. By 1994 there was growing interest in the Internet.
The person who contributed most to the Web as we know it was Tim Berners-Lee. Without this English scientist's invention of the Internet we may never have experienced using the computer as most of us already do. Unknowingly, he created many jobs when he invented the Internet and may have boosted many peoples creativity.