Network Timeline
Milestones in the Evolution of Today's Internet
1957 — Russia launches Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite. 1958 — In response, the United States forms the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Department of Defense to establish America’s superiority in science and technology applicable to the military. 1969 — ARPANET — the first packet-switching network — begins, connecting computers at four universities in California and Utah. Designed for research, education, and government organizations, it provides a communications network linking the country in the event that a military attack destroys conventional communications systems. 1972 — Electronic mail is introduced by a Cambridge, Massachusetts, computer scientist, who uses…
