An early computer at Seattle's Living Computers Museum + Labs. (GeekWire Photo by Kevin Lisota).
An early computer at Seattle’s Living Computers Museum + Labs. (GeekWire Photo by Kevin Lisota).

Forty-seven years ago today, two computers hooked up.

They bridged the gap between UCLA and Stanford and their amorous union gave birth to the Internet, a baby that would change the world one day.

On Nov. 21, 1969, researchers from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) put the first link into service, connecting computers at UCLA and Stanford Research Institute. The link was part of the Internet’s ancient ancestor, ARPANET, an early computer network developed by DARPA to connect military and government organizations.

“The network used packet-switching, flow-control, and fault-tolerance techniques developed by ARPANET,” says the Computer History Museum. “Historians consider this worldwide network to be the origin of the Internet.”

Hot stuff, we know.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.