Internet Timeline

By slillie1

  • Interface message processors

    Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN) wins a DARPA contract to develop the packet switches called interface message processors (IMPs).

  • UNIX operating system

    At Bell Labs, Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson complete the UNIX operating system, which gains a wide following among scientists.

  • First e-mail program

    Ray Tomlinson at BBN writes the first e-mail program to send messages across the ARPANET. In sending the first message to himself to test it out, he uses the @ sign—the first time it appears in an e-mail address.

  • TCP/IP incorporated

    At DARPA’s request, Bill Joy incorporates TCP/IP (internet protocol) in distributions of Berkeley Unix, initiating broad diffusion in the academic scientific research community.

  • Theorynet

    Larry Landweber, of the University of Wisconsin, creates Theorynet, to link researchers for e-mail via commercial packet-switched networks like Telenet.

  • Demonstration of independent networks to communicate

    Cerf and Kahn organize a demonstration of the ability of three independent networks to communicate with each other using TCP protocol. Packets are communicated from the University of Southern California across the ARPANET, the San Francisco Bay Packet Radio Net, and Atlantic SATNET to London and back.

  • The Internet

    ARPANET, and all networks attached to it, officially adopts the TCP/IP networking protocol. From now on, all networks that use TCP/IP are collectively known as the Internet. The number of Internet sites and users grow exponentially.

  • Advent of Domain Name Service

    The advent of Domain Name Service, developed by Paul Mockapetris and Craig Partridge, eases the identification and location of computers connected to ARPANET by linking unique IP numerical addresses to names with suffixes such as .mil, .com, .org, and .edu.

  • Internet of administratively independent connected TCP/IP networks emerges

    As the NSFNET backbone becomes saturated, NSF plans to increase capacity, supports the creation of regional networks, and initiates a program to connect academic institutions, which invest heavily in campus area networks. The Internet of administratively independent connected TCP/IP networks emerges.

  • World Wide Web software developed

    CERN releases the World Wide Web software developed earlier by Tim Berners-Lee. Specifications for HTML (hypertext markup language), URL (uniform resource locator), and HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) launch a new era for content distribution. At the University of Minnesota, a team of programmers led by Mark McCahill releases a point-and-click navigation tool, the "Gopher" document retrieval system, simplifying access to files over the Internet.