This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/vint-cerf-helped-create-the-internet-on-the-back-of-an-envelope-11671210858
Listen to article
(3 minutes)
Much has changed in the world of cyberspace since Jan. 1, 1983, the date often called “the birthday of the internet.” Yet the internet’s fundamental architecture—the communications protocol that allows computer networks all over the world to talk to each other—remains essentially the same. This is largely thanks to a design that Vint Cerf sketched on the back of an envelope while holed up with fellow computer scientist Robert Kahn in a Palo Alto cabana nearly 50 years ago.
“Bob and I were like two hands on one pencil,” Dr. Cerf, 79, says over video from his home in McLean, Va., dressed in his usual three-piece suit. “We had a Stanford secretary type it up, and what did we do with the handwritten original? We threw it away! Historians have never forgiven me,” he adds with a laugh.
Continue reading your article with
a WSJ membership
Already a member?
Sign In
WSJ Membership
Customer Service
Tools & Features
Ads
More
Dow Jones Products
WSJ Membership
Customer Service
Tools & Features
Ads
More
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.