History of the Internet

The concept of the Internet was developed during the Cold War in the 1950s. The US Department of Defense wanted to develop a computer network that wouldn’t be disrupted in the event of a war with the Soviet Union. While at the same time get computers in different locations to be able to communicate with one another using a common language. [1]  Now, who invented the internet? Despite popular belief or more like popular joke, it was not former Vice President Al Gore. The internet evolved from an early US government-funded project called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). It involved the universities of UCLA, UCSB (University of California Santa Barbara) and University of Utah. [2] The first description of the internet that was actually recorded (as opposed to someone thinking out loud) was in a series of memos written by J.C.R. Licklider of MIT in August 1962. In these memos Licklider described a “Galactic Network” concept where he envisioned a globally interconnected computers which everyone could access data and programs.[3] The general population did not start using the internet till the early 1990s.

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[1] Evans, A. Martin, K., & Poatsy, M.A. (2015). Technology in Action. “Using the Internet: Making the Most of the Web’s Resources,” Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Pg 76

[2] Ibid, pg 77

[3] Leiner, B. Cerf, V., Clark, David. Brief History of the Internet by 1983. http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-inter