Objects & Inventions
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of linked online information accessed over the Internet through browsers, web addresses, and common standards.
The World Wide Web is a system for publishing and navigating linked information over the Internet. British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee proposed it at CERN in 1989 to help researchers share information across different computer systems. The Web uses technologies including URLs or URIs, HTTP, and HTML.
By the end of 1990, Berners-Lee had created the first web server and a program called WorldWideWeb that functioned as both a browser and an editor. CERN later made the Web's foundational software freely available, allowing people and organizations around the world to build sites and develop compatible tools.
Quick facts
- Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web while working at CERN in 1989.
- He created the first web server and the first browser-editor by the end of 1990.
- The first website described the World Wide Web project itself.
- HTML, HTTP, and web addresses became foundational technologies for publishing and linking web resources.
- CERN released the Web's software into the public domain in 1993.
A surprising fact
The first web browser was also an editor, reflecting the original goal that users should be able to create as well as read web pages.
