First Email Sent (1971)

Hello from My Big Computer Room!

Hello. My name is Ray Tomlinson, and I am a computer engineer. That means I love working with computers. A long, long time ago, in the year 1971, my office was a very noisy place. It was filled with giant computers that were as big as refrigerators. They went whirrr, and hummm, and their lights would blink, blink, blink all day long. It was fun. We could leave messages for our friends on the computers, but there was a trick. You could only leave a message for someone who used the very same computer as you. It was like leaving a note on the kitchen fridge for your family. You couldn't leave a note for your friend next door using your fridge.

A Silly Message and a Special Sign

One day, I had a big, new idea. What if I could send a message from my computer to the computer sitting right next to it? It would be like magic. But how would the computer know where to send my hello? I looked down at my keyboard and saw all the letters and numbers and signs. I saw a very special one that looked like a little swirl. It was the '@' sign. I thought it was perfect. This little '@' could mean that the message was for someone 'at' another computer. So I decided to try. I typed a silly message. I think it was just 'QWERTYUIOP'. Do you know what that is? It's just the top row of letters on the keyboard. I was just testing it out.

Sending Hellos Across the World

I took a deep breath and sent the message. I peeked at the other computer, and pop. There it was. My silly message had traveled from one computer to the other. It worked. I was so excited. That first little test was the very first email ever sent. I am no longer here today, but my idea grew and grew. Now, you can send an email with a happy birthday song to your grandma across the ocean, or a picture of your puppy to your best friend. My one small idea from that big, noisy room now helps connect the whole world, all with that little, swirly '@' sign.