Internet History

The Internet has been around for much longer than most people think, with its roots able to be traced back to the 1960s. This web site will give you an insight into the background and development of the medium. You’ll find information on its rapid growth, the fierce competition generated and the major players involved. Clear goals have driven some, whilst others have become household names almost by accident. Find fascinating facts on a phenomenon that has changed communication to an extent which was previously totally unimaginable. 1960s: Advent of packet-switching network heralds birth of Internet 1968: US Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) furthers packet-switching development 1970s: ARPA introduces network for defence and develops e-mail. US universities join network 1973: First intercontinental network connection as University College of London joins network 1975: Bill Gates creates Microsoft as PC sales grow 1979: USENET is developed, pushing Internet’s rapid expansion 1985: Forerunner of America Online (AOL) is launched by Steve Case 1990: Tim Berners-Lee develops Internet computer language and address system 1991: WorldWideWeb browser and server software made available by Tim Berners-Lee 1993: Mosaic, the first properly developed web-browser, takes Internet by storm 1994: First World Wide Web Consortium conference held 1995: Amazon launched by Jeff Bezos 1995: eBay basis set by Pierre Omidyar 1995: Yahoo launched by David Filo and Jerry Yang 1998: Google opens its doors 1998: ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is born 2004: Google stock market launch  2005: Google invests US$ 1 billion for 5% stake in Time Warner’s AOL 2006: Number of websites tops the 100,000,000 mark 2007: Launch of Windows Vista 2008: Bill Gates retires. Launch of Google Chrome