The First Email Ever Sent Was Just ‘QWERTYUIOP’: Ray Tomlinson’s 1971 Test

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Internet as we know it was only a grand idea taking form through the ARPANET project—a government-funded research network linking computers at various universities and research centers across the United States.

Raymond Samuel Tomlinson, a computer engineer working for Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN), was instrumental in creating the first networked email system. Earlier programs like SNDMSG allowed users on the same computer to leave messages for one another, but Tomlinson saw an opportunity to extend messaging across multiple machines connected to ARPANET.

Sometime in November or December 1971, sitting in a dim Cambridge laboratory, Tomlinson sent the first-ever electronic message between two separate computers sitting right next to each other. This modest test message consisted of a series of characters that formed no meaningful sentence, with many sources speculating that “QWERTYUIOP”—the first row of the keyboard—was used.

From Simple Test to Revolutionary Tool

At the time Tomlinson sent that first email, he barely grasped the implications of his work. The message was meant purely as a system test to demonstrate the viability of computer-to-computer communications. Far from a formal announcement, it was a “neat little experiment,” as Tomlinson later described.

What did revolutionize communication was his masterstroke of using the “@” symbol to separate the user’s name from the host computer’s name in the email address—a convention that endures today. This simple choice allowed messages to be correctly routed across diverse computer systems, establishing a scalable addressing scheme vital for the growth of networked communication.

The original ARPANET email programs SNDMSG and READMAIL enabled sending and reading messages, respectively. Together they formed the basic framework that would evolve into the modern email systems relied on billions of times daily.

Who Was Ray Tomlinson?

Born in 1941 in New York, Tomlinson earned degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s from MIT. Joining BBN in 1970, he initially worked on ARPANET, which was primarily designed for resource sharing and communication among research institutions.

Tomlinson’s innovation was an example of playful problem-solving combined with technical expertise—the fruit of “fooling around” with existing software to test new communication possibilities.

Though modest about his achievement, he was widely recognized later with honors including induction into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2012. He passed away in 2016, leaving a legacy embedded in the wired world.

The Evolution of Email After 1971

Post-1971, email quickly became a dominant form of communication within ARPANET users. By 1973, email had become the most popular use for the network, prompting development of standards and protocols such as SMTP for sending messages between servers.

During the 1980s and 1990s, email expanded into commercial and public use as the Internet grew, relying on foundational ideas Tomlinson introduced.

Today, email infrastructure supports trillions of messages yearly, serving as a backbone for personal, business, and governmental communication. Innovations like user-friendly clients, spam filtering, and encryption further matured the technology.

Fascinating Trivia About the First Email and Email Development

• The exact content of the first email is uncertain—Tomlinson himself said he didn’t remember precisely but guessed it was something like “QWERTYUIOP.”
• The “@” symbol was chosen because it was not commonly used in names, avoiding confusion and symbolizing “user at computer.”
• Early emails had no subject lines; modern email headers and metadata emerged over years of development.
• ARPANET initially linked only four computers; email became its flagship application quickly.
• Before network email, users relied on physical mail, telegrams, or face-to-face communication for remote messages.
• Tomlinson’s work was independent from other inter-user communication systems existing then, like CTSS MAIL at MIT.
• Email has evolved to include attachments, HTML formatting, and mobile notifications, far beyond simple text messages.
• The first email message took about 3 minutes to transmit at the slow data rates of early ARPANET.

Reflections on Innovation and Digital Communication

What began as a small-scale test message—a modest line of keyboard letters—has become one of the most transformative communication tools in history. Ray Tomlinson’s innovation bridged distances invisibly and instantly, altering how humanity connects, collaborates, and creates.

The email’s story reminds us innovation often starts in humble moments of curiosity, with little fanfare but vast future impact. Today’s global digital societies owe a debt to the man who sent a seemingly meaningless first email and chose a simple “@” to link names and computers.

From “QWERTYUIOP” to Billions of Messages

That first email, possibly “QWERTYUIOP,” reminds us that monumental change can arise from the simplest beginnings. Tomlinson’s work sparked a silent revolution that connected the world and continues to shape human interaction in the digital age.

As email technology advances and new forms of communication emerge, the legacy of that first test message endures—proof of how creativity and experimentation can open new frontiers.

If this journey back to email’s modest origins inspired awe, share this article and celebrate the digital connection woven by a simple string of letters on a 1971 computer screen.

Sources & Further Reading:

• National Library of Medicine: Ray Tomlinson and First Email (2018)
• Wikipedia: History of Email and Ray Tomlinson (2025)
• Mail.com Blog: First Email 52 Years Ago (2023)
• Computing History: Ray Tomlinson’s Email Innovation (2025)
• PBS NewsHour: The Story Behind Email’s Birth (2018)