“I am frequently asked why I chose the @ sign, but the @ sign just makes sense. I used it to indicate that the user was ‘at’ some other host rather than being local.”
- #wikipedia
- #quote
- #trusted-source
- #www.theguardian.com
- #corroborated
Figure timeline
Raymond Tomlinson
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson was an American computer programmer who invented the first email program on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet, in 1971; it was the first system able to send mail between users on different hosts connected to ARPANET. Previously, mail could be sent only to others who used the same computer. To achieve this, he used the @ sign to separate the username from th…
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
science · American computer programmer (1941–2016) · programmer · inventor · patent inventor · computer scientist · designer · also Raymond Tomlinson, Ray Tomlinson, Raymond Samuel Tomlinson, Raymond S. Tomlinson, Tomlinson
Born 23 April 1941 · Died 5 March 2016 · Q92631
22 published statements · 0 followers
See & hear
Photos & media
1 photos
Media from Wikimedia Commons, hotlinked at the source under its own licence — see each file for author and terms.
Live now
In the news
Pulling headlines from trusted outlets — this usually takes a few seconds
Checking the wires…
Feed scan
These are live links, not archived citations — they only join the timeline once a collect run verifies and archives them.
Live pulse
Recent highlights
Most recent outstanding titles, awards, and quotes
- Quote
- Quote
2026· 2 entries
“I see email being used, by and large, exactly the way I envisioned.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote
2022· 1 entry
Email Day, an annual, national holiday was established in honor of Ray Tomlinson and his creation of email
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2016· 3 entries
Died 2016-03-05.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #death
At his home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, at the age of 74
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Published “Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger” in Physical Review Letters — cited 11,755 times.
- #crossref
- #research
- #work
2012· 2 entries
Awarded Internet Hall of Fame (2012).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Tomlinson was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame by the Internet Society
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2011· 2 entries
Awarded Eduard-Rhein Cultural Award (2011).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Was listed 4th in the MIT150 list of the top 150 innovators and ideas from MIT
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2010· 1 entry
Credited to Tomlinson and described as a "defining symbol of the computer age
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2009· 2 entries
Awarded Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research (2009).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Along with Martin Cooper was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for scientific and technical research
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2004· 2 entries
Awarded IEEE Internet Award (2004).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #award
- #achievement
Received the IEEE Internet Award along with Dave Crocker
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2002· 1 entry
Discover magazine awarded him its Innovative Innovating Award of Innovation
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
2001· 2 entries
Was inducted into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
Received a Webby Award from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for lifetime achievement
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1971· 1 entry
Was asked to adapt an existing program called SNDMSG—which allowed users to leave messages for others on the same time-sharing computer—so that it could run on TENEX
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1967· 1 entry
Joined the technology company of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN; now Raytheon BBN), where he helped develop the TENEX operating system including the ARPANET Network Control Program, implementations of Telnet, and imple
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #event
1965· 1 entry
Studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, master's degree (1965).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #education
1941· 1 entry
Born 1941-04-23.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikidata
- #birth