[rhade (OP)]

OK, strictly speaking, this isn't a science question, but I came upon some information on-line which said a particular website domain name was first registered in 1969, so I thought, surely not, the internet wasn't around back then. Or is there something I don't know?

[chris]

This terrific article by Doug Richards traces the web's history:

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/once-a-knight-is-not-enough/

Chris

[Bored chemist]

Given the nature of most of the computer specialists I know, I  doubt it was much before lunch and I suspect it was after quite a lot of coffee or cola.

[Geezer]

Given the nature of most of the computer specialists I know, I  doubt it was much before lunch and I suspect it was after quite a lot of coffee or cola.

I resemble that remark!

(Anyway, according to Neil it was next Tuesday.)

[neilep]

Given the nature of most of the computer specialists I know, I  doubt it was much before lunch and I suspect it was after quite a lot of coffee or cola.

I resemble that remark!

(Anyway, according to Neil it was next Tuesday.)

It was next Tuesday !

[rhade (OP)]

Thanks for the above link, Chris! I read the article. So it looks like that 1969 date must have been some kind of error, which is what I thought. There's just one more thing. I believe the web had it's origins in something developed by the US military. Can anyone share any insight into that?

[Geezer]

The 1969 date is when the first remote nodes were connected over Arpanet. There were other networks in development around the same time, including X-25.

Arpanet was similar to the internet, but the internet uses TCP/IP protocol, and that didn't really get going until the mid-eighties, so it's quite difficult to pin down a specific date. Like a lot of things, it was a lot more of an evolution than a revolution. 

[swadewade8]

When did the internet start?

The modern internet evolved from an early U.S. Government-funded internet working project called the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) Arpanet began as a four node network including UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, the University of California as Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah in Salt lake.  The first real communication took place in 1968 between the computer at Stanford and UCLA.  The system actually crashed after the third letter was typed but, that did in fact start the revolution.  The two men responsible for the internet are Vincent Cerf and Robert Kahn.  they are considered to be the fathers of the internet  In the 1970's they were responsible for the creation of communication protocols(standards) that are in use today..  Glad to be of help!!   They did it not me.  Just glad I could help in letting everyone know if they already didn't who helped advance our world overall in a dramatic way..

[swadewade8]

I quoted "1968"  That is not accurate. The year was 1969.  My apologies to all.

[rhade (OP)]

Thanks Geezer and Swadewad, the above is an enormous help! I'm not sure if it explains the registration date stated for the website info I saw, but it at least tells me there was some form of internet in 1969.
The internet is a marvellous thing, I'm sure we all agree. Right now, I'm tapping this latest comment out on my phone, something that wouldn't even have been possible a short time back. It often impresses me the way it brings the world together.