The history of the Internet

The Internet, as we know it, has only been in existence for fifteen years, but its origins stretch back much further, with roots in both the military and academic worlds.  Even a brief history of the Internet would take up more space than is available here, so instead, here are 10 facts about the Internet that you should know.  Taken together, they form an Internet history timeline that will hopefully help you make sense of the development of this world-changing invention.

10 Facts About the Internet You Should Know

1. The concept of the “World Wide Web” was coined by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee in 1990.  Berners-Lee developed a system for sharing information and files while working at CERN, the Centre for European Nuclear Research.  He may fairly be described as the inventor of the World Wide Web in its current form.  Berners-Lee was knighted by the Queen in 2004.

2. How did the Internet start and why?  The origins of the Internet lie in the time-sharing of IBM computers in the early 1960s at American universities such as Dartmouth and Berkeley.  People would share the same computer for their computing tasks and needed a simple method of connecting computers.  In addition, the Internet received an inadvertent boost from the Russian space program and the first orbiting satellite, Sputnik, through the US Government agency known as ARPA.

3. What was ARPANET?  ARPANET stands for “Advanced Research Projects Agency Network.”  ARPA was set up by President Eisenhower in response to the launch of Sputnik and the perceived threat from Soviet technological superiority.  The military wanted a method of communicating and sharing all the information on computers for R&D purposes, and were also concerned that more traditional means of communication could be destroyed in the event of a nuclear war.  ARPANET was the first concerted effort to network computers for communication and information-sharing purposes.

4. When was the first mouse introduced?  The first computer mouse was introduced in 1968 by Douglas Engelbart at the Fall Joint Computer Expo in San Francisco.  A simple wooden shell with two metal wheels, the mouse soon became a standard means for interacting with personal computers.  Engelbart never received any royalties for his invention.

5. Did Al Gore really invent the Internet?  Sadly, this is something of an urban myth.  Indeed, Gore never claimed to have done so – although he did claim a great deal more credit than perhaps he was due.  As a member of the United States Senate and subsequently Vice-President, though, he probably did more than any other politician to advance the Internet as a policy priority for successive US Governments.

6. Which decade saw the explosion of the Internet?  The 1990s.  Prior to the mid 1990s, the Internet was the preserve of a few specialists, mostly scientists and the odd computing student.  After 1993, the launch of the Netscape browser, the rise of Windows as a common operating system, and the improvement in fiber-optics and eventually broadband connections, all helped create the conditions for the Internet to take off.

7. How fast is the growth of the Internet?  Answer, very fast indeed!  Google now indexes some 8 billion pages, and the Net has grown exponentially in the last 15 years.  Radio took all of 38 years to reach 50 million users; the Internet managed the feat in just 5.

8. Where does the word “Google” come from?  A “Googol” is a very large number – 1 followed by 100 zeroes.  The word was popularized by scientist Carl Sagan in the 1970s and 80s, and adapted by the company as an unusual and memorable name.  Incidentally, 1 followed by a googol zeroes is called a “Googolplex” – which is now the informal name of Google’s headquarters.

9. What does HTTP stand for?  HyperText Transfer Protocol.  This is the means of moving files across the net; requiring two client programs - the HTTP client and the server, it is a simple way of transferring information between different types of machines.

10.  Number of Internet users.  The Internet is roughly 35% English speaking and 65% non English speaking, with Chinese making up some 16% and Spanish only 9%.  Only 13% of the world’s population (812 million people) were Internet users as of December 2004 – but by late 2007, this was estimated to be 1.244 billion.
    
    

Summary

Internet history has come a very long way in a relatively short time.  From its humble beginnings, it has transformed the lives of billions around the world, and there are fewer and fewer limits to what you can now do online.  As with all great developments, what is striking about the history of the Internet is that it grew, almost organically, out of the innovation and genius of a few people working individually and together to solve problems; the involvement of government was important at certain stages, but never crucial.  Once the new technologies and software took off, there was no stopping the development of the information superhighway.  The history of the Internet stands as a testament to the power of creative minds to make the world a better place.