P  R  E  N  T  I  C  E     H  A  L  L

FINANCE
====== AND ======
ACCOUNTING
INTERNET GUIDE

BRENDA MIZGORSKI, CPA

 

Chapter 1 - In the Beginning . . .
>  Introduction  >  What Is the Internet?  >  History of the Internet-Who Invented It?
>  Internet History Resources > Who Owns & Runs the Internet?  
>  How the Internet Works-Just the Basics
 
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History of the Internet-Who Invented It?

The Internet was created to establish a decentralized network among U.S. government defense agencies and strategic command posts. The purpose of the Internet was to create a network infrastructure that would survive even if a large portion of the network were destroyed, specifically in the event of a nuclear war. It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1969 and was originally referred to as the ARPAnet. Over the years the ARPAnet expanded to include those affiliated with defense work such as academicians, researchers, and major defense contractors.

Between 1982 and 1987, Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf became key members of a team that created TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), the common language of all Internet computers. After the TCP/IP formation, the loose collection of networks which made up the ARPAnet is seen as an "Internet" (an inter-connected system linked together in a network), and the Internet, as we know it today, was conceived.

By 1990, the organization of the Internet's success, the ARPAnet, was decommissioned, leaving a legacy of over 300,000 hosts which constituted the vast network-of-networks called the Internet.

Internet History Books

If you are interested in reading more about how the Internet was formed, take a look at these books:
  
cover Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet
by Katie Hafner & Matthew Lyon
  
cover Architects of the Web: 1,000 Days That Built the Future of Business
by Robert H. Reid
  
cover Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet
by Michael Hauben et al.
  
Exploring the Internet: A Technical Travelogue
by Carl Malamud.  (01.25.00 Book Update Note: The full text of this book is available at http://not.invisible.net/eti/ and is no longer available in print)

Proceed to Page 4  >  Internet History Resources