# Ray Tomlinson, inventor of email dies

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-tomlinson-inventor-of-email-dies/748207>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 7, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-tomlinson-inventor-of-email-dies/748207 "2016-03-07T15:36:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-tomlinson-inventor-of-email-dies/748207/1 "2016-03-07T15:36:29Z")

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[http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/ct-ray-tomlinson-modern-email-inventor-dies-20160306-story.html](http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/ct-ray-tomlinson-modern-email-inventor-dies-20160306-story.html)

Passed away this past weekend, per Raytheon, his employer.

Interesting facts:

- Ray selected the @ symbol as the protocol for link between the username and the domain address.
- He was hired by BBN in 1967. BBN was later acquired by Raytheon, whom Ray was employed by when he died.
- He raised miniature sheep with his partner in Massachusetts.
- He wasn’t addicted to email.

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**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-tomlinson-inventor-of-email-dies/748207/2 "2016-03-07T15:54:11Z")

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I just showed up here to start a thread about him. It’s amazing how some of the people who had the most world-changing effects on technology are virtually unknown in the world at large.