• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Ihof Logo Header 182px 67px

Internet Hall of Fame

Recognizing the People Who Bring the Internet to Life

Search DropdownSearch IconNominate
  • About
    • Advisory Board
    • Previous Events
  • Inductees
  • News
    • Blog
    • Announcements
  • Nominate
Home / Inductee Profiles / How an ‘Aha’ Moment Became the World’s First Search Engine
5 July 2018

How an ‘Aha’ Moment Became the World’s First Search Engine

The development of the world’s first search engine was not spurred by a natural disaster or an epic journey. 

Just an “aha” moment for a graduate student.

While attending graduate school at Montreal’s McGill University in the late 1980s, Alan Emtage developed and launched Archie, the first Internet search engine. Derived from “archive,” Archie was a database of early websites and facilitated the development of multiple techniques used by modern search engines.

In a recent interview, the 2017 Internet Hall of Fame inductee said his creation’s origins were not particularly dramatic, but still required a little subterfuge in the early days to get around some academic red tape. 

“It sort of happened organically,” Emtage said of Archie’s development. “There wasn’t a goal where I had to struggle, ford rivers or climb mountains to get to it. The powers that be didn’t realize what we were doing, so we had to do it under sort of the cover of darkness and not let them realize we were utilizing all of these resources. They didn’t really understand what was going on.” 

Watch our full interview with Alan Emtage below:

Related Posts

15 May 2018

Lessons for Today in Internet’s Past

Read More about Lessons for Today in Internet’s Past

16 August 2018

How Ham Radio Inspired the Internet

Read More about How Ham Radio Inspired the Internet

8 June 2018

From Mapping Aquatic Ecosystems to Connecting Africa

Read More about From Mapping Aquatic Ecosystems to Connecting Africa

3 March 2018

Tracy LaQuey Parker Talks Internet Security Risks

Read More about Tracy LaQuey Parker Talks Internet Security Risks

Footer

Facebook F 1
Twitter 1
Youtube 1
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

The Internet Hall of Fame is presented by:

Internet Society 76x25

USA

11710 Plaza America Drive
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190
+1-703-439-2120

Switzerland

Rue Vallin 2
CH-1201 Geneva
+41-22-807-1444

Other Offices

© 2023 Internet Society