One wouldn’t think that computers and science would have much in common. However, that’s far from the truth as computer scientists worked on building the first computer as far back as the 1950s. The main brain behind the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee was born on the 8th of June 1955 in London, England, and his parents were early computer scientists themselves, working on the early versions of computers. With a degree from Oxford University, Berners-Lee then moved on to work as a software engineer in Switzerland, at CERN- the European Organization for Nuclear Research. It was here that Tim saw scientists were having a difficult time sharing information and eventually, in March 1989, he shared his plans for what would eventually become known as the World Wide Web. Not even two years later, Tim had created the three important fundamentals that remain part of the web we know today: HTML, URI, and HTTP.
At first, the Web only ran on limited platforms and operating systems, access to very few people around the world. The first successful test between different platforms happened in 1992 and soon the successful Web became available- not only at CERN—but also to other academic institutions and scientific laboratories. Archie, Gopher, and other early internet-based projects attempted to organize data distributed on the Web and soon they housed hundreds of servers each. Gopher offered an alternative Web for people to access but it was soon declared propriety and licensed. In response to this, CERN declared the Web to be free to all and released the code to the public, allowing individuals to add extensions without needing to be licensed. Media distribution was made possible due to data compression, and several formats like MPEG and JPEG were released for the practical distribution of media.
Over the next several years, different domains and servers would bloom on the Web, some of which are still in use today. Yahoo, a directory originally named ‘Jerry and David’s guide to the World Wide Web’ was released in early January of 1994. Python, a programming language- the first of its kind- was released in late January of 1994. Net Magazine was a UK magazine publisher that was released in December of 1994 and, while it went through several versions over the years, it ultimately closed in June of 2020. Online banking and E-Commerce were made more secure through encrypted connections like HTTPS, but even despite this, there was a rise in cybercrime and hackers in the 2010s.
Back at the beginning of it all, computers were huge, unmoving beasts of machinery. You needed to have a vast understanding of multiple components to work one and it was impossible to share information easily. Today, however, internet access comes in many forms—slim desktops, portable laptops and tablets, and even on our mobile phones. Internet access is free to all, browsers and operating systems are everywhere we look on the Web. Communication and sharing information between people is simpler than ever, despite any distance.
History of the World Wide Web – Wikipedia