<P> Raymond Samuel `` Ray '' Tomlinson ( April 23 , 1941 -- March 5 , 2016 ) was a pioneering American computer programmer who implemented the first email program 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 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 . The Internet Hall of Fame in its account of his work commented `` Tomlinson 's email program brought about a complete revolution , fundamentally changing the way people communicate '' . Tomlinson is internationally known and credited as the inventor of the email . </P>
<P> Raymond Samuel `` Ray '' Tomlinson ( April 23 , 1941 -- March 5 , 2016 ) was a pioneering American computer programmer who implemented the first email program 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 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 . The Internet Hall of Fame in its account of his work commented `` Tomlinson 's email program brought about a complete revolution , fundamentally changing the way people communicate '' . Tomlinson is internationally known and credited as the inventor of the email . </P>
when was email invented and who is considered the inventor
when was email invented and who is considered the inventor
1971 Raymond Samuel `` Ray '' Tomlinson
1971 Raymond Samuel `` Ray '' Tomlinson