Cern, the European nuclear research agency in Switzerland, churns out an awful lot of data, as you might expect. In March 1989, British scientist Tim Berners-Lee sent out a proposal to his colleagues bemoaning the fact that it was all too easy for information to get filed away and lost. Different departments used different computers, which ran different software, much of which was unable to talk to each other. If you found part of what you were looking for on one computer, you might have to get up and go to another computer to complete your search.
But what if you didn't know exactly what you were looking for? You might be able to follow a trail for a while, but miss all the data around it. Berners-Lee's solution was to have links on pages, over a network of computers, that would direct researchers from A to B, and then possibly straight to E, all at the click of a mouse.
Information would be easier to find because it mimicked the way people communicate in the real world, as opposed to following an endless, rigid directory of folders contained within folders. People don't just talk to their boss, for example, they talk to everyone in the office, sharing ideas in all direction, so why not do the same with linked pages on an interconnected network of computers – an “internet”?
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
For that to happen, pages would have to be “marked up” in a common language, which Berners-Lee referred to as “hypertext”. Hypertext mark-up language, HTML for short, is still the foundation of web pages today. And, if anybody was free to create these pages, you would eventually have a “world-wide web” of data.
On 12 November 1990, Berners-Lee and colleague Robert Cailliau published a proposal entitled WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project that set out a two-phase plan to achieve their web. The first stage would involve the “implementation of simple browsers”. Then they would “extend the application”, “allowing the users to add new material”.
For the “state-of-the-art” computers and software needed for the project, the pair budgeted around CHF80,000 (£32,500 in 1990). But research into “fancy multimedia facilities such as sound and video” would have to wait for the time being.
In the 30 years since then, the World Wide Web has changed our lives in ways we could scarcely have imagined. Who knows where the Web will take us next?
-
The top stocks in the FTSE 100After a year of strong returns for the UK’s flagship index, which FTSE 100 stocks have posted the best performance in 2024?
-
A junior ISA could turn your child’s pocket money into thousands of poundsPersuading your child to put their pocket money in a junior ISA might be difficult, but the pennies could quickly grow into pounds – and teach them a valuable lesson about money
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar Square
Features On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is created
Features On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formed
Features On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
