I have, therefore, forgotten them." At first, his email messaging system was not considered important. Its development was not a directive of his employer, with Tomlinson merely pursuing it "because it seemed like a neat idea." When showing the system to a colleague, Tomlinson said "Don't tell anyone! This isn't what we're supposed to be working on." Tomlinson said he preferred "email" over "e-mail,"joking in a 2010 interview that "I'm simply trying to conserve the world's supply of hyphens" and that "the term has been in use long enough to drop the hyphen". Death Tomlinson died at his home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, on March 5, 2016, from a heart attack. He was 74 years old. Awards and honors In 2000 he received the George R. Stibitz Computer Pioneer Award from the American Computer Museum (with the Computer Science Department of Montana State University). In 2001 he received a Webby Award from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for lifetime achievement. Also in 2001 he was inducted into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame. In 2002 Discover'' magazine awarded him its Innovative Innovating Award of Innovation. In 2004, he received the IEEE Internet Award along with Dave Crocker. In 2009, he along with Martin Cooper was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for scientific and technical research. In 2011, he was listed 4th in the MIT150 list of the top 150 innovators and ideas from MIT. In 2012, Tomlinson was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame by the Internet Society. In 2022, Email Day, an annual, national holiday was established in honor of Ray Tomlinson and his creation of email. April 23 (Tomlinson's birthday) was chosen. Notes Further reading External links Tomlinsons' e-mail webpage 1941 births 2016 deaths American computer programmers American electrical engineers 20th-century American inventors Email MIT School of Engineering alumni People from Amsterdam, New York Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Webby Award winners Engineers from New York (state) Inventors from New York (state)