Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web (2024)

By Kim Ann Zimmermann, Jesse Emspak

published

The internet history timeline shows how today's vast network evolved from the initial concept

Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web (1)

Jump to:

  • Internet timeline
  • 1970s
  • 1980s
  • 1990s
  • 2000s
  • 2010s
  • 2020s
  • Additional resources
  • Bibliography

In internet history, credit for the initial concept that developed into the World Wide Web is typically given to Leonard Kleinrock. In 1961, he wrote about ARPANET, the predecessor of the internet, in a paper entitled "Information Flow in Large Communication Nets."

According to the journal Management and Business Review (opens in new tab) (MBR), Kleinrock, along with other innovators such as J.C.R. Licklider, the first director of the Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO), provided the backbone for the ubiquitous stream of emails, media, Facebook postings and tweets that are now shared online every day.

Related articles

Firewall: Definition, technology and facts

Latency: Definition, measurement and testing

What is cyberwarfare?

The precursor to the internet was jumpstarted in the early days of the history of computers , in 1969 with the U.S. Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), according to the journal American Scientist (opens in new tab). ARPA-funded researchers developed many of the protocols used for internet communication today. This timeline offers a brief history of the internet’s evolution:

Internet timeline: 1960s

1965: Two computers at MIT Lincoln Lab communicate with one another using packet-switching technology.

1968: Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN) unveils the final version of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) specifications. BBN wins ARPANET contract.

1969: On Oct. 29, UCLA’s Network Measurement Center, Stanford Research Institute (SRI), University of California-Santa Barbara and University of Utah install nodes. The first message is "LO," which was an attempt by student Charles Kline to "LOGIN" to the SRI computer from the university. However, the message was unable to be completed because the SRI system crashed.

Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web (2)

1970–1980

1972: BBN’s Ray Tomlinson introduces network email. The Internet Working Group (INWG) forms to address need for establishing standard protocols.

1973: 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.

1974: The first Internet Service Provider (ISP) is born with the introduction of a commercial version of ARPANET, known as Telenet.

1974: Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn (the duo said by many to be the Fathers of the Internet) publish "A Protocol for Packet Network Interconnection," which details the design of TCP.

1976: Queen Elizabeth II hits the “send button” on her first email.

1979: USENET forms to host news and discussion groups.

1980–1990

1981: The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided a grant to establish the Computer Science Network (CSNET) to provide networking services to university computer scientists.

1982: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP), as the protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, emerge as the protocol for ARPANET. This results in the fledgling definition of the internet as connected TCP/IP internets. TCP/IP remains the standard protocol for the internet.

1983: The Domain Name System (DNS) establishes the familiar .edu, .gov, .com, .mil, .org, .net, and .int system for naming websites. This is easier to remember than the previous designation for websites, such as 123.456.789.10.

1984: William Gibson, author of "Neuromancer," is the first to use the term "cyberspace."

1985: Symbolics.com, the website for Symbolics Computer Corp. in Massachusetts, becomes the first registered domain.

1986: 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. Over time the network speeds up and regional research and education networks, supported in part by NSF, are connected to the NSFNET backbone — effectively expanding the Internet throughout the United States. The NSFNET was essentially a network of networks that connected academic users along with the ARPANET.

1987: The number of hosts on the internet exceeds 20,000. Cisco ships its first router.

1989: World.std.com becomes the first commercial provider of dial-up access to the internet.

Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web (3)

1990–2000

1990: Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, develops HyperText Markup Language (HTML). This technology continues to have a large impact on how we navigate and view the internet today.

1991: CERN introduces the World Wide Web to the public.

1992: The first audio and video are distributed over the internet. The phrase "surfing the internet" is popularized.

1993: The number of websites reaches 600 and the White House and United Nations go online. Marc Andreesen develops the Mosaic Web browser at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. The number of computers connected to NSFNET grows from 2,000 in 1985 to more than 2 million in 1993. The National Science Foundation leads an effort to outline a new internet architecture that would support the burgeoning commercial use of the network.

1994: Netscape Communications is born. Microsoft creates a Web browser for Windows 95.

1994: Yahoo! is created by Jerry Yang and David Filo, two electrical engineering graduate students at Stanford University. The site was originally called "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web." The company was later incorporated in March 1995.

1995: 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.

1995: The first online dating site, Match.com, launches.

1996: The browser war, primarily between the two major players Microsoft and Netscape, heats up. CNET buys tv.com for $15,000.

1996: A 3D animation dubbed "The Dancing Baby (opens in new tab)" becomes one of the first viral videos.

1997: Netflix is founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a company that sends users DVDs by mail.

Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web (4)

1997: PC makers can remove or hide Microsoft’s internet software on new versions of Windows 95, thanks to a settlement with the Justice Department. Netscape announces that its browser will be free.

1998: The Google search engine is born, changing the way users engage with the internet.

1998: The Internet Protocol version 6 introduced, to allow for future growth of Internet Addresses. The current most widely used protocol is version 4. IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses allowing for 4.3 billion unique addresses; IPv6, with 128-bit addresses, will allow 3.4 x 1038 unique addresses, or 340 trillion trillion trillion.

1999: AOL buys Netscape. Peer-to-peer file sharing becomes a reality as Napster arrives on the Internet, much to the displeasure of the music industry.

2000–2010

2000: The dot-com bubble bursts. Websites such as Yahoo! and eBay are hit by a large-scale denial of service attack, highlighting the vulnerability of the Internet. AOL merges with Time Warner

2001: A federal judge shuts down Napster, ruling that it must find a way to stop users from sharing copyrighted material before it can go back online.

2003: The SQL Slammer worm spread worldwide in just 10 minutes. Myspace, Skype and the Safari Web browser debut.

2003: The blog publishing platform WordPress is launched.

2004: Facebook goes online and the era of social networking begins. Mozilla unveils the Mozilla Firefox browser.

2005: YouTube.com launches. The social news site Reddit is also founded.

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.

2006: Twitter launches. The company's founder, Jack Dorsey, sends out the very first tweet: "just setting up my twttr."

2009: The internet marks its 40th anniversary.

2010–2020

2010: Facebook reaches 400 million active users.

2010: The social media sites Pinterest and Instagram are launched.

2011: Twitter and Facebook play a large role in the Middle East revolts.

2012: President Barack Obama's administration announces its opposition to major parts of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act, which 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 and 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.

2013: 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.

2013: Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults report that they bank online, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.

Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web (5)

2015: Instagram, the photo-sharing site, reaches 400 million users, outpacing Twitter, which would go on to reach 316 million users by the middle of the same year.

2016: 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.

2018: There is a significant rise in internet-enabled devices. An increase in the Internet of Things (IoT) sees around seven billion devices by the end of the year.

2019: Fifth–generation (5G) networks are launched, enabling speedier internet connection on some wireless devices.

2020–2022

2021: By January 2021, there are 4.66 billion people connected to the internet. This is more than half of the global population.

2022: Low–Earth orbit satellite internet is closer to reality. By early January 2022, SpaceX launchesmore than 1,900 Starlinksatellites overall. The constellation is now providing broadband service in select areas around the world.

Additional resources

To find out more about the SpaceX satellite internet project, you can watch this video (opens in new tab) about the mission. Additionally, to read an interview with Leonard Kleinrock, visit the Communications of the ACM website (opens in new tab).

Bibliography

Kim Ann Zimmermann

Live Science Contributor

Kim Ann Zimmermann is a contributor to Live Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Glassboro State College.

Internet History Timeline: ARPANET to the World Wide Web (2024)

FAQs

What is the ARPANET history? ›

The U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first public packet-switched computer network. It was first used in 1969 and finally decommissioned in 1989. ARPANET's main use was for academic and research purposes.

How did the ARPANET evolve to the Internet? ›

American computer scientists who developed TCP/IP, the set of protocols that governs how data moves through a network, which helped the ARPANET evolve into the internet we use today. Cerf is also credited with the first written use of the word 'internet'.

When did the ARPANET become the Internet? ›

ARPANET and the Defense Data Network officially changed to the TCP/IP standard on January 1, 1983, hence the birth of the Internet. All networks could now be connected by a universal language.

What is ARPANET and why is it important? ›

ARPANET, in full Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, experimental computer network that was the forerunner of the Internet. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), an arm of the U.S. Defense Department, funded the development of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) in the late 1960s.

Which came first the Internet or the World Wide Web? ›

While the Internet has its roots in the 1960s, the World Wide Web was first accessed in 1991, once many of the kinks of networking on a global scale had been worked out, and the need for a common language asserted itself.

How important is 1969 in the discovery of ARPANET? ›

The first documented ARPANET connection was from UCLA to SRI on 29 October 1969 at 10:30 p.m. The ARPANET's technology and deployment laid the foundation for the development of the Internet. The deployment of the ARPANET set in motion a train of developments that led to the Internet as we know it today.

What is the difference between Internet and ARPANET? ›

The internet is a global interconnected network comprising thousands of networks. It wasn't always this expansive, though. When the internet's predecessor, ARPANET, was created in the 1960s, only computers on the same network could communicate with each other through packet switching.

What is ARPANET short answer? ›

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the forerunner of the Internet, was a pioneering long-haul network funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).

How did the ARPANET work? ›

ARPANET uses packet-switching technology. Packet-switching means that bits of information can take virtually any route and still end up at its final destination. For example, think about where you live and then think about the different ways to get your local supermarket.

What was invented first the personal computer or the Internet ARPANET? ›

What was invented first, the personal computer or the Internet (ARPANET)? a. The Internet was activated in 1969; the personal computer was introduced in 1975.

What came after ARPANET? ›

As ARPANET grew, a set of rules for handling data packets needed to be put in place. In 1974, computer scientists Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf invented a new method called transmission-control protocol, popularly known as TCP/IP, which essentially allowed computers to speak the same language.

When did ARPANET connect for the first time? ›

The first node of the ARPANET was established when networking hardware was installed to UCLA and connected to a host computer on September 2, 1969, but its birthdate is taken from when the first transmission was made, October 29, 1969.

Who invented world Wide Web? ›

World Wide Web

Why did the government create ARPANET? ›

The ARPANET, the precursor of the Internet, began as a research project funded by the Defense Department's Advance Research Project Agency in 1969. The goal was to develop a robust, computer network that could function after a nuclear attack.

What was the first message sent over ARPANET? ›

Just months after the first manned moon landing, the ARPANET, granddaddy to the World Wide Web, was brought to life with a rather inauspicious first communication: the letters “L” and “O.” UCLA grad student Charley Kline had been trying to type “LOGIN,” but the system crashed.

Why is the ARPANET considered to be the foundation of the Internet quizlet? ›

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was an early packet switching network and the first network to implement the protocol suite TCP/IP. Both technologies became the technical foundation of the Internet.

What is the history of Internet and www? ›

Where the Web was born. Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, while working at CERN. The Web was originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world.

What is the difference between the Internet and World Wide Web? ›

The world wide web, or web for short, are the pages you see when you're at a device and you're online. But the internet is the network of connected computers that the web works on, as well as what emails and files travel across. Think of the internet as the roads that connect towns and cities together.

Why is the Internet called the World Wide Web? ›

The Web is not the same as the Internet: the Web is one of many applications built on top of the Internet. Tim Berners-Lee proposed the architecture of what became known as the World Wide Web. He created the first web server, web browser, and webpage on his computer at the CERN physics research lab in 1990.

What is ARPANET called today? ›

The ARPANET was formally decommissioned in 1990, after partnerships with the telecommunication and computer industry had assured private sector expansion and future commercialization of an expanded world-wide network, known as the Internet.

What computer was invented in 1969? ›

Honeywell released the Honeywell 316 minicomputer in 1969. Intel sells its first commercial product, the 3101 Schottky bipolar 64-bit SRAM chip. The Smalltalk languages began being developed in 1969.

In what decade did ARPANET grow and connect to other networks the 1960s the 1980s the 1970s? ›

1972. The ARPANET grows by ten more nodes in the first 10 months of 1972. The year is spent finishing, testing and releasing all the network protocols, and developing network demonstrations for the ICCC. At BBN, Ray Tomlinson writes a program to enable electronic mail to be sent over the ARPANET.

How were ARPANET computers connected? ›

Using satellite links, ARPANET connected computer systems in the continental United States to computers in Hawaii and Europe. Even though the network had grown, few people actually had access to the system. In general, the public remained unaware of ARPANET's existence.

Which standard form is ARPANET? ›

ARPANET Full Form

The Full Form Of ARPANET is an Advanced Research Projects Agency NET. The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) is considered as a forerunner to the contemporary Internet.

Are we still using ARPANET nowadays? ›

In 1990, Arpanet was finally discontinued and replaced by the NSFNet, which had been in existence since 1985.

What is ARPANET in computer class 12? ›

Answer: ARPANET which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was the network that became the basis for the Internet and it was the world's first operational packet switching network.

Is ARPANET a network layering model? ›

The ARPANET protocols were, like our modern internet protocols, organized into layers. The protocols in the higher layers ran on top of the protocols in the lower layers.

How did the Internet start? ›

The internet began as ARPANET, an academic research network that was funded by the military's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA). The project was led by Bob Taylor, an ARPA administrator, and the network was built by the consulting firm of Bolt, Beranek and Newman. It began operations in 1969.

How do I find my internet history? ›

See your history
  1. At the top right, tap More. History. If your address bar is at the bottom, swipe up on the address bar. Tap History .
  2. To visit a site, tap the entry. To open the site in a new tab, touch and hold the entry. At the top right, tap More. Open in new tab. To copy the site, touch and hold the entry.

What is the history of internet Class 6? ›

The Internet was developed by Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf in the 1970s. They began the design of what we today know as the 'internet. ' It was the result of another research experiment which was called ARPANET, which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network.

Who first invented internet? ›

BOB KAHN (1938–) AND VINT CERF (1943–) American computer scientists who developed TCP/IP, the set of protocols that governs how data moves through a network. This helped the ARPANET evolve into the internet we use today. Vint Cerf is credited with the first written use of the word 'internet'.

What is the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web? ›

The world wide web, or web for short, are the pages you see when you're at a device and you're online. But the internet is the network of connected computers that the web works on, as well as what emails and files travel across. Think of the internet as the roads that connect towns and cities together.

What is Internet explain? ›

What is the Internet? The Internet is a vast network that connects computers all over the world. Through the Internet, people can share information and communicate from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Who owns the World Wide Web? ›

Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Tim Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA DFBCS
BornTimothy John Berners-Lee 8 June 1955 London, England
Other namesTimBL TBL
EducationThe Queen's College, Oxford (BA)
Spouse(s)Nancy Carlson ​ ​ ( m. 1990; div. 2011)​ Rosemary Leith ​ ( m. 2014)​
10 more rows

What type of data is stored in browsing history? ›

Web browsing history refers to the list of web pages a user has visited, as well as associated metadata such as page title and time of visit. It is usually stored locally by web browsers in order to provide the user with a history list to go back to previously visited pages.

Where is the history? ›

Viewing Your Google Search History on Android

Open the “Chrome” app, then type “myactivity.google.com” without quotes into the address bar or search box.

Why do browsers keep history? ›

The history contains the names and URLs of the sites visited, and is usually organized by date. Most browsers save this information by default because it helps users quickly find and return to pages they have visited in the past.

What is Internet and explain it history? ›

In general, an internet was a collection of networks linked by a common protocol. In the time period when the ARPANET was connected to the newly formed NSFNET project in the late 1980s, the term was used as the name of the network, Internet, being the large and global TCP/IP network.

What is Internet write the history of Internet Brainly? ›

The internet was developed in the United States by the "United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency" (DARPA). It was first connected in October, 1969,[1] and was called ARPANET. The World Wide Web was created at CERN in Switzerlandin 1990 by a British (UK) man named Tim Berners-Lee.

What are the 10 uses of Internet? ›

Top 10 uses of the Internet
  • Electronic mail. At least 85% of the inhabitants of cyberspace send and receive e-mail. ...
  • Research.
  • Downloading files.
  • Discussion groups. ...
  • Interactive games. ...
  • Education and self-improvement. ...
  • Friendship and dating. ...
  • Electronic newspapers and magazines.

How many years old is the Internet? ›

Since 1995, the Internet has tremendously impacted culture and commerce, including the rise of near instant communication by email, instant messaging, telephony (Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP), two-way interactive video calls, and the World Wide Web with its discussion forums, blogs, social networking services, ...

Why was the Internet invented? ›

The Internet was created to obtain a decentralised set of communication networks. Today, these networks are interconnected through TCP/IP protocols, so that it can function as a worldwide network.

Who were the main users of the first edition of the Internet? ›

The early Internet was used by computer experts, engineers, scientists, and librarians.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Prof. Nancy Dach

Last Updated:

Views: 6146

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (57 voted)

Reviews: 80% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Prof. Nancy Dach

Birthday: 1993-08-23

Address: 569 Waelchi Ports, South Blainebury, LA 11589

Phone: +9958996486049

Job: Sales Manager

Hobby: Web surfing, Scuba diving, Mountaineering, Writing, Sailing, Dance, Blacksmithing

Introduction: My name is Prof. Nancy Dach, I am a lively, joyous, courageous, lovely, tender, charming, open person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.