Berners-Lee Proposes World Wide Web: Internet's Blueprint
Tim Berners-Lee submitted his proposal for the World Wide Web to his supervisor at CERN on November 12, 1990. The document described a system of hyperlinked documents accessible through the internet. His boss, Mike Sendall, scrawled 'Vague but exciting' across the top and gave him time to develop it. Berners-Lee built the first web browser, the first web server, and the first website by December 1990, all running on a NeXT computer at CERN. He also invented HTML, HTTP, and URLs. Crucially, he never patented any of it. CERN released the technology royalty-free in 1993. That single decision made the web universally accessible. If the web had been proprietary, the internet might have splintered into competing walled gardens. Berners-Lee was a physicist solving a practical problem for his colleagues. He ended up connecting the entire world.
November 12, 1990
36 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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