Where did the Web come from?

Obvious, right? Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, 1989. We have all heard the how the WWW moved from

• an idea in 1989 to
• a basic implementation by 1991 to
• graphical browsing (not just text) in 1993 to
• commercialization and explosive growth in the late 90's to
• Web 2.0 by 2002 to
• what we have today.

Precursors

But before the WWW we had a "linked" web of information, called Gopher. And the whole idea of hyperlinks was old indeed. It should surprise you that the idea dates back to 1939, predating the first electronic computer and, of course, computer networks.

Vannevar Bush

The concept was first described as a electromechanical system using microfiche called the Memex. Intrigued? You can find the original 1945 article in multiple places on the web. It's called "As We May Think". Or you can read the much drier descripion on Wikipedia.