While not specifically podcast focussed, Tim Berners-Lee is the father of the web. More correctly, he is the person who developed the idea of hypertext and then later married the idea with the Internet. Since podcast feeds use the HTTP protocol to transfer the audio or video files, there would be no podcasting (or indeed no world wide web) without Berners-Lee's brilliance.
Recently, Berners-Lee not only started blogging, but he was also knighted by the Queen. He's a very interesting guy and a pleasure to listen to . If you're interested in hearing the voice that brought this whole crazy web thing together, take a listen to the IBM Developerworks podcast with Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Great stuff.
Hat tip to Jason for the link.