Internet History Timeline, 25 Moments From 1936 to 2019

When did the internet start?

There is no single birthday for the internet. Its forerunner, ARPANET, made its first host-to-host connection between UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute on 29 October 1969 [2]. ARPANET switched to TCP/IP, the protocols the internet still runs on, on 1 January 1983, which is often treated as the internet’s real start [2][7]. The World Wide Web, the system of linked pages most people think of as “the internet”, came later: Tim Berners-Lee proposed it at CERN in 1989 and it was released to the whole internet in August 1991 [5].

World of Engineering’s timeline above picks out 25 moments that shaped the internet, from an idea in 1936 to the arrival of “influencers”. This article walks through that history, era by era.

Key dates in internet history

Year	Moment
1936	H.G. Wells sets out his idea of a “World Brain”, a permanent world encyclopaedia [1]
1969	ARPANET makes its first connection, UCLA to Stanford Research Institute [2]
1971	Creeper, the first computer worm, spreads across ARPANET [3]
1978	The first commercial mass email, or spam, goes to about 400 ARPANET users [4]
1983	ARPANET switches to TCP/IP [2]
1991	The World Wide Web is released to the internet [5]; the Trojan Room coffee pot camera starts in Cambridge [6]
1994	Yahoo! starts; NetMarket makes one of the first secure online sales [8][9]
1995	Amazon’s website launches [10]
1996	Hotmail launches free webmail [11]
1997	The first Wi-Fi (802.11) standard is released [12]
1998	Google is founded [13]
1999	Napster launches music file sharing [14]
2001	Wikipedia launches [15]
2004	Facebook and Gmail launch [16][17]
2005	YouTube is founded [18]
2006	Twitter launches [19]
2007	Netflix starts streaming; the iPhone goes on sale [20][21]
2010	Instagram launches [22]
2014	The ALS ice bucket challenge goes viral [23]
2016	Pokémon Go launches [24]

Before the internet, 1936 to 1969

The idea came long before the technology. In a lecture at the Royal Institution on 20 November 1936, H.G. Wells described a “World Brain”, a permanent, constantly updated world encyclopaedia available to everyone. Later writers saw the World Wide Web, and Wikipedia in particular, as an extension of the idea [1].

The network itself grew out of US defence research. ARPANET, set up by the Advanced Research Projects Agency, was the first wide-area packet-switched network: instead of holding a line open like a phone call, it broke messages into small packets that could travel by different routes and be reassembled. By 5 December 1969 it linked four sites [2].

ARPANET and the first internet, 1969 to 1990

The early network quickly picked up problems the internet still has. In 1971 Bob Thomas at BBN wrote Creeper, a program that moved between ARPANET computers displaying a message; Wikipedia describes it as the first computer worm, and Reaper, written to remove it, as the first antivirus program [3]. On 3 May 1978 a marketing message for DEC computers went to about 400 ARPANET users, the first commercial spam [4].

The key technical step came on 1 January 1983, when ARPANET moved to TCP/IP [2]. Developed by Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn, who are often called the fathers of the internet [25], these protocols let separate networks join into one network of networks, which is what the word “internet” means.

The World Wide Web arrives, 1989 to 1999

Tim Berners-Lee proposed the web at CERN in March 1989. It was released to the whole internet in August 1991 and opened to the public free of charge in 1993 [5]. The web is a service that runs on the internet, alongside email and file sharing, and it is what turned the internet from a research network into something everyone used.

The 1990s brought the services that defined the early web. The Trojan Room coffee pot at the University of Cambridge, watched by a camera from 1991, became an early webcam [6]. Jean Armour Polly popularised the phrase “surfing the internet” in a 1992 article [26]. Yahoo! began as a directory of websites in 1994 [9], the same year NetMarket sold a Sting CD by credit card online [8]. Amazon’s website opened in July 1995 [10], Hotmail launched free webmail on 4 July 1996, a date chosen to stand for freedom from email tied to an internet provider [11], and Google was founded in 1998 [13]. In 1999 Napster let millions of people share music files, and was soon in court with the music industry [14].

Web 2.0 and social media, 2000 to 2009

The 2000s shifted the web from reading to taking part. Wikipedia launched on 15 January 2001 [15], Facebook (as TheFacebook) on 4 February 2004 [16], YouTube was founded in February 2005 [18] and Twitter was created in March 2006 [19]. Gmail, announced on 1 April 2004, offered far more free storage than rivals [17].

2007 marks the start of the internet in your pocket and on your TV. Apple announced the iPhone on 9 January 2007 and put it on sale on 29 June, and Netflix started streaming on 16 January the same year [20][21].

The mobile and social era, 2010 onwards

Instagram launched for the iPhone in October 2010 [22]. By the middle of the decade, social media could make a cause go viral worldwide, as the ALS ice bucket challenge did in the summer of 2014 [23], and the internet was moving into the physical world: Pokémon Go, launched in July 2016, sent millions of people out into the streets to catch virtual creatures [24]. The timeline ends with “influencer” becoming an everyday word for people who make a living from their social media following. The Oxford English Dictionary records “influencer” as far back as 1664 [27]; it is the social media sense that is new.

Questions about internet history

When was the internet invented?

ARPANET made its first connection on 29 October 1969, and switched to the TCP/IP protocols the internet uses on 1 January 1983 [2].

What was the internet called in 1969?

ARPANET, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network [2].

Who is known as the father of the internet?

Vint Cerf, who shares the title with Robert Kahn; together they developed TCP/IP [25].

What is the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web?

The internet is the global network of connected computers. The web is one service on it, a system of linked pages invented by Tim Berners-Lee and released in 1991 [5].

What was the first computer virus?

Creeper, from 1971, is usually called the first computer worm [3].

Sources

1. Wikipedia, World Brain.
2. Wikipedia, ARPANET.
3. Wikipedia, Creeper and Reaper.
4. Wikipedia, History of email spam.
5. Wikipedia, World Wide Web.
6. Wikipedia, Trojan Room coffee pot.
7. Wikipedia, History of the Internet.
8. Wikipedia, NetMarket.
9. Wikipedia, Yahoo.
10. Wikipedia, Amazon (company).
11. Wikipedia, Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail).
12. Wikipedia, Wi-Fi.
13. Wikipedia, Google.
14. Wikipedia, Napster.
15. Wikipedia, Wikipedia.
16. Wikipedia, Facebook.
17. Wikipedia, Gmail.
18. Wikipedia, YouTube.
19. Wikipedia, Twitter.
20. Wikipedia, Netflix.
21. Wikipedia, iPhone.
22. Wikipedia, Instagram.
23. Wikipedia, Ice Bucket Challenge.
24. Wikipedia, Pokémon Go.
25. Wikipedia, Vint Cerf.
26. Wikipedia, Jean Armour Polly.
27. Wikipedia, Influencer.

Last reviewed 2 November 2026