The internet was created through the combined efforts of many scientists and engineers over several decades, rather than by a single individual.

• The foundational concept of a networked system began in the early 1960s with J.C.R. Licklider, who envisioned an "intergalactic network" of interconnected computers

• Key technological advances included packet switching, proposed independently by Paul Baran and Donald Davies, which allowed data to be broken into packets for efficient transmission

• Leonard Kleinrock developed the mathematical theory behind packet switching and helped send the first message between two computers using this method in 1969

• Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn invented the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the 1970s, which became the universal language allowing different networks to communicate and is considered the core technology of the internet

• The ARPANET, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, was the first operational packet-switching network and a precursor to the internet

The World Wide Web, which made the internet accessible and useful to the general public, was invented by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. He developed the key technologies such as HTML, HTTP, and URLs, and created the first web browser and server

. While Berners-Lee invented the Web, the internet itself—meaning the underlying network infrastructure—was built by many contributors over time. In summary, the internet is the result of collaborative innovation by multiple pioneers including J.C.R. Licklider, Paul Baran, Donald Davies, Leonard Kleinrock, Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn, and Tim Berners-Lee, with Berners-Lee specifically credited for inventing the World Wide Web that popularized the internet for everyday use