Internet Timeline

By Wr3nch*

  • J.C.R. Licklider comes up with the idea for a global computer network.

  • Two computers at MIT Lincoln Lab communicate with one another using packet-switching technology.

  • Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN) unveils the final version of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) specifications. BBN wins ARPANET contract.

  • ARPA-funded computer network that becomes a reality

  • BBN’s Ray Tomlinson introduces network email

  • Global networking becomes a reality as the University College of London (England) and Royal Radar Establishment (Norway) connect to ARPANET. The term Internet is born.

  • Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf collaborate to develop a protocol for linking multiple networks together. This later becomes the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

  • The first Internet Service Provider (ISP) is born with the introduction of a commercial version of ARPANET, known as Telenet.

  • Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP), as the protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, emerge as the protocol for ARPANET

  • The Domain Name System (DNS) establishes the familiar .edu, .gov, .com, .mil, .org, .net, and .int system for naming websites.

  • The National Science Foundation’s NSFNET goes online to connected supercomputer centers at 56,000 bits per second — the speed of a typical dial-up computer modem.

  • World.std.com becomes the first commercial provider of dial-up access to the Internet.

  • In 1990, ARPANET is decommissioned. Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues at CERN develop hypertext markup language (HTML) and the uniform resource locator (URL), giving birth to the first incarnation of the World Wide Web.

  • CERN introduces the World Wide Web to the public

  • he first audio and video are distributed over the Internet. The phrase "surfing the Internet" is popularized.

  • Netscape Communications is born. Microsoft creates a Web browser for Windows 95.

  • Yahoo! is created by Jerry Yang and David Filo

  • Compuserve, America Online and Prodigy begin to provide Internet access. Amazon.com, Craigslist and eBay go live. The original NSFNET backbone is decommissioned as the Internet’s transformation to a commercial enterprise is largely completed.

  • The browser war, primarily between the two major players Microsoft and Netscape, heats up. CNET buys tv.com for $15,000.

  • Google is founded

  • The rise and burst of the dotcom bubble

  • The SQL Slammer worm spread worldwide in just 10 minutes. Myspace, Skype and the Safari Web browser debut.

  • Facebook goes online and the era of social networking begins. Mozilla unveils the Mozilla Firefox browser.

  • YouTube.com launches. The social news site Reddit is also founded.

  • Twitter launches. The company's founder, Jack Dorsey, sends out the very first tweet: "just setting up my twttr."

  • The social media sites Pinterest and Instagram are launched.

  • President Barack Obama's administration & top Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act

    Opposition to major parts of the Stop Online Piracy Act & Protect Intellectual Property Act, it would have enacted broad new rules requiring internet service providers to police copyrighted content. The successful push to stop the bill, involving technology companies such as Google & nonprofit organizations including Wikipedia and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is considered a victory for sites such as YouTube that depend on user-generated content, as well as "fair use" on the Internet.

  • Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, reveals that the NSA had in place a monitoring program capable of tapping the communications of thousands of people, including U.S. citizens.

  • Google unveils Google Assistant, a voice-activated personal assistant program, marking the entry of the Internet giant into the "smart" computerized assistant marketplace. Google joins Amazon's Alexa, Siri from Apple, and Cortana from Microsoft.

  • The Federal Communications Commission officially ended network neutrality rules that were put in place three years ago by the Obama administration.

  • WHO says mysterious pneumonia sickening dozens in China

  • WHO declares global health emergency

  • WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Comapnies scramble to look for work from home solutions.