Computer engineer, Ray Tomlinson
invented internet based email in late 1971. Under ARPAnet several major
innovations occurred: email (or electronic mail), the ability to send
simple messages to another person across the network (1971).
Ray Tomlinson worked as a computer engineer for Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN), the company hired by the United States Defense Department to build the first Internet in 1968.
Ray Tomlinson was experimenting with a
popular program he wrote called SNDMSG that the ARPANET programmers and
researchers were using on the network computers (Digital PDP-10s) to
leave messages for each other.
SNDMSG was a “local” electronic message
program. You could only leave messages on the computer that you were
using for other persons using that computer to read.
Tomlinson used a file transfer protocol
that he was working on called CYPNET to adapt the SNDMSG program so it
could send electronic messages to any computer on the ARPANET network.
The @ Symbol
Ray Tomlinson chose the @ symbol to tell
which user was “at” what computer. The @ goes in between the user’s
login name and the name of his/her host computer.
First Email
The first email was sent between two
computers that were actually sitting besides each other. However, the
ARPANET network was used as the connection between the two. The first
email message was “QWERTYUIOP”.
Ray Tomlinson is quoted as saying he invented email,”Mostly because it seemed like a neat idea.” No one was asking for email.
