Ray Tomlinson

Hello, my name is Ray Tomlinson, and I want to tell you my story. I grew up in a town called Amsterdam, New York. When I was a boy, I loved taking things apart, like old radios and clocks, just to see how all the little pieces worked together. This curiosity made me want to learn more, so in 1963, I went to college to become an engineer. I studied computers, which were very new and exciting back then. They were giant machines that filled up whole rooms, and I thought it was amazing to learn how they worked.

In 1967, I started a job at a company called BBN. I got to work on a very special project called ARPANET. You can think of ARPANET as a secret, early version of the internet. It connected big computers in different places so they could share information. We had a puzzle we needed to solve. People could leave messages for others who used the same exact computer, like leaving a note on a refrigerator. But there was no way to send a message from your computer to a different computer far away. It was like you could only talk to people in your own house, but not to your friend in the next town.

Then, in 1971, I had a big idea. I thought, what if I could mix two different computer programs together? One program was good at letting people leave messages, and another program was good at sending files between computers on the ARPANET. I decided to try combining them. For it to work, I needed a way to separate a person's name from the name of their computer. I looked at the keyboard and saw the '@' symbol. I thought it was perfect because it looked like it meant a person was 'at' their computer. The very first email I ever sent was just a test message to a computer sitting right next to me. I don't remember exactly what it said, but it was probably something silly like 'QWERTYUIOP,' just to see if it would work.

My small invention started to grow very quickly. Soon, other scientists and programmers who were also using the ARPANET started using my new email program. They used it to share their ideas, ask questions, and send news to each other. Before my invention, they had to use the telephone or send letters in the mail. Now, they could talk to each other almost instantly, no matter how far apart their computers were. It was amazing to see my little project become a tool that helped people all over the country connect and work together.

I lived to be 74 years old, and I was so proud of what I created. My life's work helped change the way the whole world communicates. Today, every single time you see an email address, you see the '@' symbol that I chose back in 1971. I am remembered as the person who invented email, helping to connect friends, families, and coworkers all across the globe. My idea helped make the world feel a little bit smaller and more connected.