The History of the Internet

  • Creation of ARPA

    Creation of ARPA
    The creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) by the U.S. Department of Defense, later known for its role in the development of the ARPANET
  • ARPANET Goes Live

    ARPANET Goes Live
    ARPANET, the first operational packet-switching network, is activated, connecting four universities: UCLA, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah
  • First Email Sent

    First Email Sent
    Ray Tomlinson sends the first email on ARPANET, marking the beginning of email as a communication tool.
  • TCP/IP Protocol Developed

    TCP/IP Protocol Developed
    Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn develop the TCP/IP protocol, which would become the standard for internet communication.
  • Domain Name System (DNS) Introduced

    Domain Name System (DNS) Introduced
    The Domain Name System (DNS) is created, allowing users to use human-readable addresses (like www.example.com) instead of numeric IP addresses.
  • First .com Domain Registered

    First .com Domain Registered
    The first commercial domain, symbolics.com, is registered by Symbolics Inc., a computer manufacturer.
  • World Wide Web Proposed

    World Wide Web Proposed
    Tim Berners-Lee proposes the World Wide Web as a system to enable the sharing of information over the Internet, using hypertext.
  • First Website Created

    First Website Created
    Tim Berners-Lee, working at CERN, creates the first website, "info.cern.ch," marking the birth of the web.
  • Mosaic Browser Released

    Mosaic Browser Released
    The Mosaic web browser, developed by Marc Andreessen, is released. It helps popularize the World Wide Web with its user-friendly interface.
  • Yahoo! Founded

    Yahoo! Founded
    Yahoo!, one of the first popular internet directories and search engines, is founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo.
  • Windows 95 Released with Internet Explorer

    Windows 95 Released with Internet Explorer
    Microsoft releases Windows 95, which includes Internet Explorer, bringing the internet to millions of new users.
  • Google Founded

    Google Founded
    Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, revolutionizing search engines with its PageRank algorithm.
  • Wikipedia Launched

    Wikipedia Launched
    Wikipedia, a free, user-editable online encyclopedia, is launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.
  • Facebook Launched

    Facebook Launched
    Facebook is launched by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates, initially as a platform for college students, before expanding globally.
  • YouTube Founded

    YouTube Founded
    YouTube is launched by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, providing a platform for users to upload and share videos.
  • iPhone Released

    iPhone Released
    Apple releases the iPhone, significantly increasing mobile internet usage and pushing forward the mobile web revolution.
  • Google Chrome Released

    Google Chrome Released
    Google releases the Chrome web browser, providing a faster and more streamlined browsing experience.
  • Instagram Launched

    Instagram Launched
    Instagram, a photo-sharing social media app, is launched, eventually growing into a global platform for content sharing and social interaction.
  • Net Neutrality Rules Enacted

    Net Neutrality Rules Enacted
    The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopts net neutrality rules, requiring internet service providers to treat all data on the internet equally.
  • Introduction of Web 3.0

    Introduction of Web 3.0
    Web 3.0 (the decentralized web) begins to gain traction, with a focus on blockchain technology, decentralized applications (dApps), and user control over data.
  • Rise of Generative AI

    Rise of Generative AI
    The internet sees a significant rise in the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, transforming how users interact with content online.