REST API operations, integral to web interactions, have a history woven by industry pioneers and theoretical foundations. While not directly linked to academic contributors, the principles of Representational State Transfer (REST) and the HTTP protocol, on which REST is based, draw inspiration from key figures in computer science.

Roy Fielding, an influential figure in the development of REST, played a significant role. His doctoral dissertation, "Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures," presented the principles of REST, emphasizing stateless communication, resource identification through URIs, and representation-based interactions.

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, contributed to the development of the HTTP protocol, the backbone of REST API operations. His work emphasized the importance of a uniform interface, leading to the creation of HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, which are fundamental to RESTful operations.

While the academic community's direct contributions to REST API operations might not be explicit, the theoretical foundations and principles that underpin REST have roots in distributed systems, network protocols, and software architecture—areas extensively explored by academics.

The HTTP methods, essential for RESTful interactions, embody the concepts of idempotence and statelessness. For instance, GET is idempotent as it retrieves a resource without changing its state, while POST is not idempotent as it can result in different outcomes with repeated requests.

In the realm of RESTful operations, developers apply the Richardson Maturity Model, named after Leonard Richardson. This model defines four levels of RESTfulness, guiding the evolution from basic HTTP usage to a fully RESTful architecture.

The practical application of REST API operations gained momentum with the advent of web development frameworks like Ruby on Rails and Django. These frameworks, championed by David Heinemeier Hansson and Adrian Holovaty respectively, popularized RESTful design practices, making them accessible to a broader audience.

The contribution of software engineers, often unsung heroes, is vital in shaping REST API practices. Developers at organizations like Google, Twitter, and Facebook have influenced the adoption of RESTful APIs by showcasing their effectiveness in handling large-scale, distributed systems.

As REST continues to be a dominant architectural style, the academic community's research in areas like hypermedia APIs, HATEOAS (Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State), and API versioning further enriches the discourse around RESTful operations.

In conclusion, while specific academic contributors to REST API operations may not be explicitly identified, the principles and foundations draw inspiration from luminaries like Roy Fielding and Tim Berners-Lee. The ongoing evolution is a collaborative effort, blending theoretical insights with practical applications from developers and industry leaders, collectively shaping the landscape of RESTful operations.