[ih] Nit-picking an origin story

[Brian E Carpenter]

John,

The NPL proposal was published in 1967 [1], and there were more detailed design publications in 1969.

But I'm not at all sure that NPL actually beat ARPANET to sending the first packet. Martin Campbell-Kelly's important paper [2] says "The development of the switching software proved quite straightforward: it operated successfully in January 1970..." And of course it was a campus network, not between separate sites.

[1] https://doi.org/10.1145/800001.81166
[2] https://doi.org/10.1109/MAHC.1987.10023

Regards/Ngā mihi
    Brian Carpenter

On 17-Aug-25 05:16, John Day via Internet-history wrote:
> The NPL network already existed and had for awhile, a couple of years but I will have to go look at sources to be exact.
> 
> Of course, what this should say is the first messages exchanged on the ARPANET.
> 
> I am sure BBN tested it before they delivered it, but I don’t remember now what Hafner says about that.
> 
> Take care,
> John
> 
>> On Aug 16, 2025, at 12:41, Dave Crocker via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>>
>> My Facebook feed just delivered a tidbit from UCLA that begins:
>>
>>    "In 1969, UCLA Professor Leonard Kleinrock directed the transmission
>>    of the first message between two networked computers..."
>>
>> I found myself wondering a bit about that characterization:
>>
>> 1. Didn't BBN do some inter-host packet exchanges, when testing the
>>    IMPs, before shipping them to UCLA and SRI?  Wouldn't that have
>>    counted as the actual first?
>> 2. There were other packet research projects, at the time, but I don't
>>    remember the details of timing of other 'WAN' and 'LAN' project.
>>    1969 was early enough that it's entirely possible the others were
>>    later, but I'd be interested in hearing the details.
>>
>> I suspect the refinement of the UCLA statement would be:
>>
>>    "In 1969, UCLA Professor Leonard Kleinrock directed the transmission
>>    of the first message between two networked computers
>>
>> -- 
>> Dave Crocker
>>
>> Brandenburg InternetWorking
>> bbiw.net
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