Who invented the use of the "@" sign in email addresses?

Raymond Samuel Tomlinson (April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016) was an American computer programmer who implemented the first email system on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet, in 1971. It was the first system able to send mail between users on different hosts connected to the ARPANET. (Previously, mail could be sent only to others who used the same computer.) To achieve this, he used the @ sign to separate the user name from the name of their machine, a scheme which has been used in email addresses ever since.

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25 Comments

Gerald Woerner

I'm sure all the critics knew what was meant by "invented" as well as myself. Why some people have to "nit pick" the authors words when it had no bearing on the answer is beyond me.

Bill Coe

He DIDN"T invent the @ any more than someone "invented" the . in .com. He adopted the @ for use in email addresses. He DID invent email.

Lupe Hernandez

Gerald Woerner, So true, the question does not say he invented the @ sigh, it says he "invented the use" of it.

Cari G.

Good question.

Marylou King

I thought it was Al Gore.

fdeisner

He was the first to use it in emails but it was around long before he used the EXISTING symbol of @. The first documented use was in 1536, in a letter by Francesco Lapi, a Florentine merchant, who used @ to denote units of wine called amphorae, which were shipped in large clay jars. I did not know the words USED and INVENTED were synonyms as this question seems to imply. [inˈvent] VERB create or design (something that has not existed before); be the originator of: "he invented an improved form of the steam engine" SIMILAR: originate create innovate

Helga U. Williams

I had heard his name before, so I did pick the correct answer. I did enjoy the narrative! 👍

mapiferuk

Good to know the origins of the use of @ in IT, although of course it wasn’t “invented” by anyone just implemented or adopted

Barry Crews

Laurie Johnson Gonzalez, agree 100% with your comment

Kathleen Miller

Michael H Matheny, Well now you do. Isn't that great ?

Jeff Carter

A good interesting question. Ok, so maybe “invented” wasn’t technically the correct word to use but it was clear what the question was asking. Let’s not get too pedantic.

Barbara Glasper

I had NO idea!!!

Emilia Kosterina

New knowledge to me, very interesting.

Chandran David

Awesome information

Laurie Johnson Gonzalez

It doesn't say he invented the @ sign. It says he invented the USE of the @ sign in email. While there may be a better way to word it, it's not wrong.

Jas Newman

Gerald Woerner, Agree. Furthermore, the question did not ask who invented the "@" sign, but rather it asked, "Who invented THE USE of the "@" sign in email addresses?" I missed the answer, but at least I could read and understand the question.