‘Ray Tomlinson’ is no more

Raymond Tomlinson, the American programmer, a graduate of the distinguished Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), widely recognized as the inventor of modern email and a Technological leader, has departed from this mortal world on March 5, 2016, at the age of 74. Email existed in a limited capacity before Tomlinson in that electronic messages could be shared amid multiple people within a limited framework. But until his invention in 1971 of the first network person-to-person email, there was no way to send something to a specific person at a specific address. It is said Tomlinson wrote and sent the first email on the ARPANET system, a computer network that was created for the U.S. government that is considered a precursor to the Internet. Tomlinson also contributed to the network’s development, among numerous other pioneering technologies in the programming world.

Tomlinson’s employer, Raytheon Company, a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation, said in a statement “A true technology pioneer, Ray was the man who brought us email in the early days of networked computers.” “His work changed the way the world communicates and yet, for all his accomplishments, he remained humble, kind and generous with his time and talents.” “I’m often asked ‘Did I know what I was doing?” Tomlinson once said in his speech when he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame. “The answer is: Yeah I knew exactly what I was doing. I just had no notion whatsoever about what the ultimate impact would be.” Raymond Tomlinson is the one who chose the “@” symbol to connect the username with the destination address and it has now become a cultural icon. “It is a sy that probably would have faded out if not for email,” Spokeswoman of Raytheon Joyce Kuzman said. The symbol has become so important in modern culture that MoMA’s Department of Architecture and Design added the symbol into its collection in 2010, with credits to Tomlinson.

Tomlinson held electrical engineering degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And despite being a famed programmer and recipient of numerous awards and accolades, co-workers described him as very humble and modest. “People just loved to work with him,” “He was so patient and generous with his time. He was just a really nice, down-to-earth, good guy,” Kuzman added. Unambiguously, in Raymond Tomlinson’s sad and untimely demise the whole world has lost a great human being, and a prolific inventor and technological leader. The entire world will remain ever indebted to him for his unparalleled invention of modern email and would remember him for ages to come.

M FAZAL ELAHI

Islamabad