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Two computers at MIT Lincoln Lab communicate with one another using packet-switching technology.
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Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN) unveils the final version of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) specifications. BBN wins ARPANET contract.
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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.
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BBN’s Ray Tomlinson introduces network email. The Internetworking Working Group (INWG) forms to address need for establishing standard protocols.
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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.
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Queen Elizabeth II hits the “send button” on her first email.
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William Gibson, author of "Neuromancer," is the first to use the term "cyberspace."
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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.
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World.std.com becomes the first commercial provider of dial-up access to the Internet.
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CERN introduces the World Wide Web to the public.
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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.
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The first online dating site, Match.com, launches.
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Netflix is founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a company that sends users DVDs by mail.
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The Google search engine is born, changing the way users engage with the Internet.
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Facebook goes online and the era of social networking begins. Mozilla unveils the Mozilla Firefox browser.
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YouTube.com launches. The social news site Reddit is also founded.
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Twitter launches. The company's founder, Jack Dorsey, sends out the very first tweet: "just setting up my twttr."
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The Internet marks its 40th anniversary.
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The social media sites Pinterest and Instagram are launched.
