LINCOLN, Mass., March 6 (UPI) — Ray Tomlinson, the man who created email in the early 1970s, has died. He was 74.
Tomlinson’s employer, Raytheon, announced the news on Sunday. Details were not released.
Electronic messages could be sent before Tomlinson’s creation, but within a very limited network. There was no voicemail and no answering machines, either.
Tomlinson was working for a tech firm in Boston in 1971 when he saw the need to send electronic messages — with a simple mailbox protocol — and be able to leave a message for whomever you needed.
“Everyone latched onto the idea that you could leave messages on the computer,” he told the Verge. “As the network grew and the growth of all that accelerated, it became a really useful tool. There were millions of people you could potentially reach.”
The first email was sent between two side-by-side machines with an “entirely forgettable” message, Tomlinson said. He sent a group email to co-workers soon after, explaining how to use his new invention.
It remained something of a novelty until the rise of the personal computer in the late 1980s and early 1990s where it became a essential part of American life. Even with smart phones and texting, email continues to play a role in business and in the lives of people around the world.
Tomlinson also chose the “@” symbol to connect the username with the destination address and it has now become a cultural icon. In 2010, MoMA’s Department of Architecture and Design added the symbol into its collection, crediting Tomlinson.
Though Tomlinson, who was inducted into the internet Hall of Fame in 2012, achieved his goals with the invention, it’s usage far exceeded his original intent.
“I see email being used, by and large, exactly the way I envisioned” he told the Verge. “In particular, it’s not strictly a work tool or strictly a personal thing. Everybody uses it in different ways, but they use it in a way they find works for them.”
“People just loved to work with him,” Raytheon spokesperson Joyce Kuzman said. “He was so patient and generous with his time. He was just a really nice, down-to-earth, good guy.”
