Info.cern.ch returns to the Web

First web address is reincarnated as a historical reference on the birth of the Web.


Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, with one of the first Web pages on his computer.

CERN invites you to take a virtual trip back in time and have a look at what the very first URL, which led to a revolution of the way we communicate and share information, was all about.

The original web server, whose address was info.cern.ch, centred on information regarding the WorldWideWeb (WWW) project. Visitors could learn more about hypertext, technical details for creating one's own webpage, and even an explanation on how to search the Web for information-something 5 year-olds of today have mastered since it all started 17 years ago.

Now info.cern.ch has been re-launched with a much brighter façade and a focus on the ideas that inspired this new wave of technology. The first browser created by Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, contained just about everything we see today on a web browser, including graphics, menus, layouts and windows. The only trouble was that it was only accessible via a NeXT computer. Visitors to this new website can click on links to view images of some of the early screen shots of this first browser and Berners-Lee's original proposal for a universal method of connecting hypertext with the Internet and personal computers.

There is also a link to the first universal line mode browser, featuring one of CERN's early homepages. Although this browser came later than the original NeXT browser, it was a very simple layout without fancy graphics and aesthetic use of colours, the information provided was the same as the one used today. It contained general information about CERN, a directory of telephone numbers, announcements and important news regarding Lab activities.

Photos of the people involved in the creation and development of the WWW bring a face to the technology we use daily. These include Berners-Lee, a physicist at CERN during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Robert Cailliau, a systems engineer also from CERN. The NeXT computer, the first web server, can also be seen at the Microcosm museum here at the Lab.

The site provides important aspects about the history of one of CERN's most well-known inventions and provides information useful for teachers, history buffs, or anyone curious about the Web's beginnings.

Visit info.cern.ch for a historical look at how the Web was created.