text: who invented the internet?   no one person invented the internet as we know it today. however, certain major figures contributed major breakthroughs:  (1) leonard kleinrock was the first to publish a paper about the idea of packet switching, which is essential to the internet. he did so in 1961.   (2) j.c.r. licklider was the first to describe an internet-like worldwide network of computers, in 1962. he called it the "galactic network."  (3) larry g. roberts created the first functioning long-distance computer networks in 1965 and designed the advanced research projects agency network (arpanet), the seed from which the modern internet grew, in 1966.  (4) bob kahn and vint cerf invented the transmission control protocol (tcp) which moves data on the modern internet, in 1972 and 1973.  (5) by 1983, tcp was the standard and arpanet began to resemble the modern internet in many respects. the arpanet itself was taken out of commission in 1990. most restrictions on commercial internet traffic ended in 1991, with the last limitations removed in 1995. ncsa mosaic web browser also came out in 1993, the first browser that supported both text and graphics.  for an excellent article on history and evolution of the internet, refer to the following links: http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/ http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml  on the lighter side, as popularly said, 'al gore' invented the internet. that's not the truth. refer to http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=ajd6k1uz8ofcruvj37ihu_yjzkix?qid=1005121801557  to get an insight on this issue.