Renowned American computer programmer who reportedly invented the e-mail system in 1971, Ray Samuel Tomlinson, has died at the age of 74.
Reports say he died of an apparent heart attack on Saturday, March 5, 2016.
Gmail, one of many offshoots of Tomlinson’s creation in a message on Twitter, wrote: “Thank you, Ray Tomlinson, for inventing email and putting the @ sign on the map. #RIP“
Thank you, Ray Tomlinson, for inventing email and putting the @ sign on the map. #RIP
— Gmail (@gmail) March 6, 2016
Tomlinson is credited as the first man to send an email and applauded for commandeering the @ symbol as a way to simplify how it works.
Although there has been a wide debate on social media over the authenticity of the claims that Tomlinson really created the email.
