ChronoFive
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Setting the scene
The first website went public on August 6, 1991, when Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist at CERN in Switzerland, made the World Wide Web project publicly available on the internet. Berners-Lee had invented the web in 1989-1990, creating HTML (HyperText Markup Language), HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), and URLs. The first website, hosted at info.cern.ch, explained the World Wide Web project.
What happened
The website described how to set up a web server, how to create web pages, and how to search for information. It was a simple text-only page with hyperlinks. Berners-Lee made the technology royalty-free and open source, allowing anyone to use it without permission or payment. The web built on the existing internet infrastructure but made it accessible through browsers.
Why it still matters
The public release of the web in 1991 began the information revolution. By 1993, there were 500 websites; by 1995, Netscape's IPO sparked the dot-com boom. The web transformed commerce, communication, politics, and culture, creating the modern digital economy. Berners-Lee's decision to keep the web open and free, rather than patenting it, enabled its explosive growth. August 6, 1991, marks the birth of the web that now connects 5 billion people.
Background
Browsers soon brought it to the public.