MY FRIEND WROTE the USERS MANUAL for the ARPANET; AL GORE DID NOT CREATE the INTERNET (written 10/23/2021; published 10/24/2021)

Introduction

This is the second in my trifecta. My friend, JC, had never mentioned the following to me, until I read his email!

Ten years before folks had wide use of the Internet, my friend wrote, over several months, the Users Manual for the ARPANET. It was during his early years in the U.S. Air Force. He emailed about it Friday evening. I saw and read his email this (Saturday) morning. I enjoyed doing some research early that morning, while drinking coffee and awaiting breakfast. (Mrs. Appalachian Irishman makes me a country breakfast on Saturdays and Sunday. Thanks, dear!)

ARPANET – the Ancestor to the Internet

ARPANET is Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. It started in the late 1960s.

You are welcome to click the link to the U.S. Department of Defense, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) – to learn what I did. I had never heard of ARPANET before!

Several websites have factual details. The Internet Hall of Fame has a good article: A Brief History of the Internet (by Barry M. Leiner, Vinton G. Cerf, David D. Clark, Robert E. Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock, Daniel C. Lynch, Jon Postel, Larry G. Roberts, Stephen Wolff), published 1997.

My good friend, JC, in his early U.S. Air Force days, wrote the Users Manual for ARPANET! My friend is one, of many, who pioneered the eventual creation of the Internet! That is impressive!

My good friend will appreciate that I place his verified (by his credible word) contribution to the eventual creation of the Internet into the context of my next section. I must engage in “poly-tics” a while!

Al Gore Did NOT Take “the Initiative in Creating the Internet”

On 3/8/1999 (when Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I were still in Russia), Al Gore – now former Senator from Tennessee and former Vice President – stated to CNN's Wolf Blitzer: “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” (Source: the link here, and below, to The Washington Post.)

The Washington Post fact checked Al Gore's statement: “A Cautionary Tale for Politicians: Al Gore and the ‘Invention’ of the Internet,” by Glenn Kessler, The Fact Checker, 11/4/2013.

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the Defense Department commissioned the ARPANET in 1969. Al Gore was age 21 (born 3/31/1948). He was attending Vanderbilt University law school. Eventually, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives -- eight years after ARPANET was created. See https://www.britannica.com/biography/Al-Gore.

History.com has at least two interesting articles on the invention of the Internet: Who Invented the Internet? (updated 10/28/19, original 12/18/13, written by Evan Andrews). The Invention of the Internet (updated 10/28/19, original 7/30/10, written by History.com Editors).

To his credit, however, Al Gore was one of 33 total 2012 Internet Hall of Fame Inductees. He was one of the nine, who were inducted as Global Connectors. See https://www.internethalloffame.org/inductees/2012. Al Gore took initiative to help create the USA government's spending of taxpayer money to enhance the already-existing Internet. See his Inductee page: https://www.internethalloffame.org/inductees/al-gore.

Conservative folks around this part of Tennessee are not proud to call Al Gore a native son of Tennessee. He is a member of the “Socialist Utopian Propagandists.” He does not represent Tennessee conservative values.

Conclusion

When someone asks you if you know about ARPANET, you can now answer “yes.” I can also. In fact, go around the next few days, asking folks if they know about ARPANET – just for fun! I may do so.

Thanks, JC, for your email Friday evening. It made for good reading Saturday morning! I'm proud that you had an early role in helping create what would become the Internet – as opposed to Al Gore, whose lie on the topic is known!