First International Conference on the World-Wide Web

First International Conference on the World-Wide Web
WWW1
WWW1 logo
Host countrySwitzerland
DateMay 25, 1994 (1994-05-25)–
May 27, 1994 (1994-05-27)
Venue(s)CERN
CitiesGeneva
Participants
  • 380
  • Oscar Nierstrasz (Program chair)[1]
  • Bertrand Ibrahim (Conference chair)[1]
Websitewww.cern.ch/www94

Tim Berners-Lee drew what he called the "metro": a diagram of the relationships between the existing systems (FTP, SMTP, HTTP, ...) in the form of a stylised map resembling that of the London Underground. That made me think that we needed to deal with a lot more hard computer science than our small team of four or five could intellectually handle. Therefore I began to toy with the idea of an international conference on WWW technologies. Tim was not convinced, but I went ahead.

Robert Cailliau[2]

The First International Conference on the World-Wide Web (also known as WWW1) was the first-ever conference about the World Wide Web, and the first meeting of what became the International World Wide Web Conference. It was held on May 25 to 27, 1994 in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference had 380 participants,[3] who were accepted out of 800 applicants.[4] It has been referred to as the "Woodstock of the Web".[5]

The event was organized by Robert Cailliau,[6][7] a computer scientist who had helped to develop the original WWW specification, and was hosted by CERN.[8] Cailliau had lobbied inside CERN, and at conferences like the ACM Hypertext Conference in 1991 (in San Antonio) and 1993 (in Seattle). After returning from the Seattle conference, he announced the new World Wide Web Conference 1.[9] Coincidentally, the NCSA announced their Mosaic and the Web conference 23 hours later.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Thanks to People". CERN. 28 May 1994. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  2. ^ n:Wikinews:Story preparation/Interview with Robert Cailliau
  3. ^ "First International Conference on the World-Wide Web". CERN. 2 June 1994. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  4. ^ Robert Cailliau (1995). "A Little History of the World Wide Web". World Wide Web Conference. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  5. ^ "How the web began". CERN. 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  6. ^ Robert Cailliau (21 July 2010). "A Short History of the Web". NetValley. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  7. ^ Tim Berners-Lee. "Frequently asked questions - Robert Cailliau's role". World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  8. ^ "IW3C2 - Past and Future Conferences". International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee. 2010-05-02. Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  9. ^ a b Petrie, Charles; Cailliau, Robert (November 1997). "Interview Robert Cailliau on the WWW Proposal: "How It Really Happened."". Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2010.