40 years ago, on August 3, 1984, Internet history was made!
After being on the way for almost 24 hours, computer scientist Michael Rotert was able to receive the first email in Germany that day. It is unimaginable today that it took so long.
Whether online shopping, invoices, delivery notifications, newsletters or in a professional context, the delivery of emails has become indispensable in all of these areas.
You can read here why it took just under 24 hours to send emails and the revolutionary success story of this digital communication channel.
When and where was email invented?
As early as 1965, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used the world's first email system. Using the “Mailbox” program, they were able to leave short messages on their computers that would be displayed the next time they logged in. This system was further developed in the years that followed.
It is winter 1971 and the engineer Ray Tomlinson has a vision: he wants to find a way to send letters digitally without being tied to a location. Just six hours later and he has developed the e-mail program. He connects two computers with a three-meter-long cable and actually manages to transmit a message. Tomlinson no longer knows what it said.
At the same time, he developed the world's first email address: tomlinson@bbntenexa. At that time, there were no endings such as .com, .org or .de – these were only introduced later.
Good to know: Tomlinson didn't get rich with his revolutionary invention. This is a big advantage for all email users, because otherwise you would have to pay postage every time you send an email.
What was in the first email to Germany?
“This is your official welcome to CSNET. We are glad to have you aboard.” translated: “Welcome to CSNET. We are glad to have you aboard,” said the first email sent to Germany.
The first original email that Rotert received
Laura Breeden, from the administrative office of the Internet precursor CSNET at the elite university MIT was the sender of this message. The recipient was Michael Rotert, who at the time was the technical director of the computer science department in Professor Werner Zorn's team at the University of Karlsruhe.
On August 2, 1984, Breeden confirmed with this email that the university's computer scientists were the first in Germany to officially join the cross-border scientific network CSNET. But why was the email only received on August 3?
Professor Michael Rotert shows email servers in Germany
Today, emails are received within minutes or seconds of being sent. Back then, things were a little different. Messages were only delivered a day later because the servers needed more than 24 hours to deliver the message.
The Computer scientist Karlsruhe University were the first international partners of the CSNET network. Ten years after this digital milestone, German users were already receiving more than a billion emails per year. According to the email market leader United Internet, the current figure is more than 500 billion emails.
Importance of emails
With the digital revolution in the 20th century, the importance of e-mail has increased significantly. Today, digital communication cannot be imagined without it. From professional communication, to online shopping and billing, to social media. Emails are the most used communication medium in many different digital areas.
Every day billions of emails are sent and received
Today, emails are no longer only used on desktop PCs or notebooks; they are also constantly available on smartphones and tablets. Despite competition from messenger services and other tools, email has successfully survived all predictions of its imminent demise.
And that is why this day should be celebrated. Because: exactly 40 years ago today, the first email was received in Germany and Internet history was made!