Network of Networks: How Humanity Wove the Planet’s Digital Quilt
The Internet, which has become an integral part of modern life, has come a long way from being an experimental project to a global network with billions of users. Here is a detailed history of its creation:
Origins (1960s):
1. 1962: J. C. R. R. Licklider of MIT proposes the concept of the “Galactic Network.“
2. 1964: Paul Baran of RAND Corporation develops the idea of packet switching.
ARPANET:
1. 1966: The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) begins work on a computer network.
2. 1969: ARPANET, the first packet-switched operating network, is created. Four U.S. universities become the first nodes.
3. 1972: Ray Tomlinson develops an e-mail system for ARPANET.
Protocol development:
1. 1973: Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn begin work on the TCP/IP protocol.
2. 1983: ARPANET moves to TCP/IP, which is considered the official birth of the Internet.
The emergence of the World Wide Web:
1. 1989: Tim Berners-Lee, working at CERN, proposes th