When was the first email sent?
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The first networked email was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, an engineer at BBN (Bolt, Beranek and Newman), working on ARPANET, the precursor to today's internet. He sent it between two computers sitting side by side (but connected through the network), using adapted versions of two existing programs: SNDMSG (for local messages) and CPYNET (a file transfer protocol). The message itself was forgettable, something like "QWERTYUIOP" or "Testing 123." What mattered was that it worked.
That moment marked the first time a message crossed digital waters between distinct machines. It laid the foundation for everything that came after: spam filters, authentication protocols, inbox tabs, and the global mail routes we navigate today.
Want to know who actually invented email (it's more complicated than one person), or how email evolved from that single test message into the inbox you're trying to land in today? We've got you covered.
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