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USSR Launches Sputnik
USSR launches Sputnik into space and, with it, global communications. -
Bell Labs Invents Modem
Bell Labs researchers invent the modem (modulator - demodulator), which converts digital signals to electrical (analog) signals and back, enabling communication between computers. -
U.S. Government Creates ARPA
The United States government creates the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in response to Sputnik launch. -
Leonard Kleinrock Pioneers Packet-Switching
Leonard Kleinrock pioneers the packet-switching concept in his Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) doctoral thesis about queueing theory: Information Flow in Large Communication Nets. -
J.C.R. Licklider Conceives Intergalactic Network
J.C.R. Licklider writes memos about his Intergalactic Network concept of networked computers and becomes the first head of the computer research program at ARPA. -
ASCII Is Developed
The first universal standard for computers, ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Exchange) is developed by a joint industry-government committee. ASCII permits machines from different manufacturers to exchange data. -
Paul Baran, Donald Davies Develop Message Blocks/Packet-switching
The Rand Corporation's Paul Baran develops message blocks in the U.S., while Donald Watts Davies, at the National Physical Laboratory in Britain, simultaneously creates a similar technology called packet-switching. The technology revolutionizes data communications. -
China Dominates Internet Usage
By 2010, there are over 450 million Chinese Internet users. -
Royal Wedding Is Biggest Internet Event
Live streaming of Will and Kate’s wedding is the biggest event ever watched on the Internet -
Internet Society Founds Internet Hall of Fame
The Internet Society founds the Internet Hall of Fame and the first 33 members are inducted in a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.