The Timeline of the Network by Jong Eun Kim and Monica Andujar

The Telegraph

Jan 1, 1836

The telegraph was the first method of sending messages across a distance via wires.

First Transatlantic Cable Operational

Jan 1, 1858

The Transatlantic Cable allowed direct instantaneous communication across the atlantic.

Invention of the Telephone

Jan 1, 1876

-Alexander Graham Bell exhibits the telephone.
-The telephone paved the way for better communication.

Sputnik is Launched

Jan 1, 1957

-The first artificial earth satellite Sputnik is launched by USSR.
-Wireless communication became possible for the first time through satellites.
-The start of Global Telecommunications marked.

ARPA

Jan 1, 1958

-In response to Sputnik, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) is created by the US Department of Defense (DoD).

NLS

Jan 1, 1960

-Doug Engelbart prototypes an "oNLine System" (NLS) which does hypertext browsing and editing.
-He invents the mouse for this purpose

Networks Developed

Jan 1, 1962

-Military came up with a way to send informacion in tiny packets via the satellites, which made their information safer.

Communication through packet-switching

Jan 1, 1965

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

First Version of IMP

Jan 1, 1968

-Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN) reveals the final version of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) specifications

Birth of Internet

Jan 1, 1969

-ARPANET is commissioned by DoD for research into networking.
-ARPANET was invented to help the government communicate within its own departments.

Email Invented

Jan 1, 1971

-There were 15 nodes (23 hosts) on ARPANET
-Email, a program to send messages across a distributed network, was invented.

First Large Scale Trial

Jan 1, 1972

-First public demonstration of ARPANET took place, connecting 40 machines.
-Internetworking Working Group (INWG) created to address need for establishing agreed upon protocols.
-BBN's Ray Tomlinson introduced Network Email.

Global Networking Takes Place

Jan 1, 1973

-First international connections to the ARPANET: University College of London (England) and Royal Radar Establishment (Norway).
-The term of Internet is born.
-File Transfer protocol specified; how computers send and receive data.

First Public Internet

Jan 1, 1974

-First Internet Service Provider (ISP) is born with the introduction of commercial version of ARPANET, as TELENET.It became the first public packet data service.
-Transmission Control Program (TCP) is specified.
-Packet network Intercommunication becomes the basis of Internet Communication.

USENET & Discussion Groups

Jan 1, 1979

-Users Network (USENET), established using UUCP, forms to host news and discussion groups.
-Computer Science Department research computer network established in USA.

National Science Foundation

Jan 1, 1981

-The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided a grant to establish the Computer Science Network (CSNET) to provide networking services to university computer scientists.
-CSNET (Computer Science NETwork) established to provide networking services (specially E-mail) to university scientists with no access to ARPANET.
-CSNET later becomes known as the Computer and Science Network.

TCP/IP Defines Future Communication

Jan 1, 1982

-Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP), commonly known as TCP/IP, emerge as the protocol for ARPANET.
-EUnet (European UNIX Network) is created by EUUG to provide E-mail and USENET services.

Internet Gets Bigger

Jan 1, 1983

-The Domain Name System (DNS) establishes the familiar .edu, .gov, .com, .mil, .org, .net, and .int system for naming website instead of previous designation for websites, such as 123,456,789,10.

Cyberspace

Jan 1, 1984

-William Gibson, author of "Neuromancer" is the first to use the term "cyberspace".
-Internet Activities Board (IAB) established, replacing ICCB
-EARN (European Academic and Research Network) established on similar lines to BITNET
-JANET (Joint Academic Network) established in the UK
-Moderated newsgroups introduced on USENET.

Symbolics.com

Jan 1, 1985

-The Website for Symbolics Computer Corp. in Massachussetts, Symbolics.com, becomes the first registered domain.

Spreading of Internet Users

Jan 1, 1986

-The National Science Foundation's NSFNET goes online to connected supercomputer centers.
-The NSFNET was a network of networks that connected academic users along with the ARPANET.
-Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) designed to enhance Usenet news performance over TCP/IP.

First Router

Jan 1, 1987

-Cisco ships its first router
-The number of hosts on the Internet exceeds 20,000.
-UUNET is founded with Usenix funds to provide commercial UUCP and Usenet access.

World.std.com

Jan 1, 1989

-World.std.com becomes the first commercial provider of dial-up access to the internet.
-Internet Relay Chat (IRC) developed

HTML Created

Jan 1, 1990

-Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, develops Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML).
-ARPANET ceases to exist

World Wide Web

Jan 1, 1991

-Tim Berners-Lee developed the World Wide Web, making possible the connection with anyone on the web.
-CERN introduces the World Wide Web to the public
-Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS)

Multimedia changes the face of the Internet

Jan 1, 1992

-The first MBONE audio multicast and video multicast are distributed over the internet.
-The phrase "surfing the internet" is coined by Jean Armour Polly.
-Internet Society (ISOC) is chartered.

The WWW Revolution truly begins

Jan 1, 1993

-Number of hosts reach 2 Million and 600 WWW sites.
-InterNIC created by NSF to provide specific Internet services: directory and database services, registration services, information services.
-US White House and United Nations (UN) comes on-line.
-Business and Media really take notice of the Internet

Commercialisation begins

Jan 1, 1994

-Number of hosts reach 3 Million, 10,000 WWW sites, and 10,000 News groups
-US Senate and House provide information servers
-Shopping malls, banks arrive on the Internet.
-UK's HM Treasury on-line (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/)

Commercialisation continues apace

Jan 1, 1995

-6.5 Million Hosts, 100,000 WWW Sites.
-A number of Net related companies go public, with Netscape leading the pack.
-Registration of domain names is no longer free.
-New WWW technologies Emerge Technologies: Mobile code (JAVA, JAVAscript, ActiveX), Virtual environments (VRML), and Collaborative tools (CU-SeeMe)

Microsoft enter

Jan 1, 1996

-50 Million Regular Internet Users
-Internet phones catch the attention of US telecommunication companies who ask the US Congress to ban the technology (which has been around for years)
-The WWW browser war begins , fought primarily between Netscape and Microsoft, has rushed in a new age in software development, whereby new releases are made quarterly with the help of Internet users eager to test upcoming (beta) versions.

Social Media

Jan 1, 2004

-Facebook goes online and the era of social networking beings.
-Mozilla unveils the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Youtube

Jan 1, 2005

-YouTube.com is launched

IGF

Jan 1, 2006

-AOL changes its business model, offering most services for free, and relying on advertising to generate revenue.
-The Internet Governance Forum meets for the first time

Internet

Jan 1, 2011

-Twitter and Facebook play a large role in the Middle East revolts.