Internet History

The internet is something that just about everyone is familiar with now, but do you ever wonder how it got its start? Let’s take a look back through internet history at how it was developed.

Internet history begins in 1957, when Sputnik was launched. As a response to this artificial satellite the US created the Advanced Research projects Agency, or ARPA. This agency was made up of brilliant minds that focused their technological efforts on computer networking and technology.

In 1962 Dr. Licklider was made the head of ARPA’s research department. He envisioned making the government’s computers more interactive; he referred to his vision as an intergalactic network. He moved ARPA’s contracts from the private sector to schools, which was the beginning of what later became the ARPANET.

Internet history continues in 1968 when the ARPANET contract was handed over to BBN who constructed the first physical network, linking four computers in 1969. By 1972 the first email program was invented by Ray Tomlinson of the BBN.

Then in 1976 the Ethernet cable was invented, which allowed data to be moved extremely quickly. That same year SATNET was developed. This was a satellite network that linked the US with Europe.

Further developments for the internet took place in 1983 when the University of Wisconsin developed DNS, which allowed satellite packets to be connected to a domain name. 1992 was a big year in internet history. It was when the Internet Society was charted and when the World Wide Web was initially released.

Since then the internet has become increasingly popular. It is hosted by such integral backbones as MCI, AT&T, Sprint, ANS and more. It is becoming the primary means of communication, research, and entertainment in many US houses today, and there is no doubt that the popularity of the internet will continue to grow.