Ray Tomlinson, Inventor Of Modern Email

npr.org/2016/03/06/469428062/ray-tomlinson-inventor-of-modern-email-has-died

Raymond Tomlinson invented email in the early 70’s & gave the humble “@” symbol a great deal of power.

The first email was sent [in 1971] between two machines that were side-by-side, according to that interview.

He said the test messages were "entirely forgettable and I have, therefore, forgotten them." But when he was satisfied that the program seemed to work, he announced it via his own invention by sending a message to co-workers explaining how to use it.

Tomlinson chose the "@" symbol to connect the username with the destination address and it has now become a cultural icon.

Why that symbol? Kuzman said Tomlinson was looking at the keyboard and needed something that would not otherwise be part of the address and that seemed to be a logical solution.

"It is a symbol that probably would have gone away if not for email," she said.
MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design added the symbol into its collection in 2010, with credits to Tomlinson.

– Associated Press