Who Invented the Internet? DARPA?
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, developed the Internet. Before the moniker ‘Internet’, they were going to call it the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, or ARPANET. As early as 1964, scientists began realizing the network, but really didn’t send any messages by computer until 1969.
TCP/IP Protocol
One of the most important features to come out of the Internet is the TCP/IP protocol. You’ve seen this option in many browsers when you have to tell your computer where to look in order to connect to the Internet. Some programs make it easy and you don’t have to worry about it, but if you are involved in a substantial network, then the TCP/IP protocol is critical. Now if there is one person who invented anything related to the Internet, then Robert Metcalfe is credited with creating Ethernet, used by any networked computer.
The Common Terms
The actual term Internet didn’t appear until 1986, when Jennifer Wimborne coined it. She invented the Internet server and also coined the terms "World Wide Web," "WWW" and "Email."
The Five Fathers of the Internet
Leonard Klienrock created a technique called packet switching, which allows data to be sent from one computer address to another. This is unique in that data can pass through lines no matter how many people are on the same line at one time. Remember the old BBS systems? If you had a BBS server, the number of phone lines you had was the maximum number of users that could be on at one time. JCR Licklider actually called the Internet a "Galactic Network." Larry G. Roberts created ARPANET and the first working computer networks in the mid-1960’s. Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf invented the TCP protocol. They are constantly given credit for inventing the Internet, but they continually refute that.
Misconceptions
Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau created the World Wide Web and the first Internet browser with HyperText Markup Language (HTML). The Web is a collection of websites while the Internet is the actual network of computers.
The name Philip Emeagwali pops up once in a while. As the Internet started to flourish, faster computers were needed to keep up with the technology being created. He mainly researched supercomputing. Emeagwali created nothing for the Internet, though he claims that he did contribute some standards. Even more famous is the rumor that Al Gore said he invented the Internet. He didn’t and he never claimed he did. So what did he do? He created an initiative to help support the advancement of the Internet through government funding. In all actuality, if he invented anything related to the Internet, he invented the term "Information Superhighway."
No One Person Should Get Credit
There is no one person responsible for inventing the Internet. It started as a team effort and continues as a team effort to this day. Wireless, broadband, blogs, and advances yet to come are the works of many individuals.