In a CNN interview on 9 March 2000, Al Gore claimed "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Was Al Gore really the "Father of the Internet"? Well, no. Albert Gore, Junior, was not elected to Congress until 1976, although his father Albert Gore, Senior, was previously a Senator. Junior represented Tennesee's Fourth District in the House of Representatives, then was elected to the US Senate in 1984. (Source: "Current Biography Yearbook 1987", page 213, edited by Charles Moritz, published by The H.H. Wilson Company, NY, copyright 1987 and 1988.) The Pentagon funded the original development of the Internet, and the military contracting company Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN) began constructing it in 1969. (Source: see the Internet history FAQ pages listed below.) It was originally called ARPAnet, since the agency that funded it was named ARPA. By 1973 it was a modest success. Wired News [wired.com] does a nice job of debunking Gore's claim. [wired.com] The CNN interview in which Al Gore claimed that he created the Internet:

• CNN transcript of Gore interview [cnn.com]
• RealAudio audio-video file of Gore CNN interview [mediaresearch.org]

Internet history FAQ pages:

• The History of the Internet [davesite.com]
• Internet Society (ISOC) All About the Internet [isoc.org]
• Evolution of the Internet [nap.edu]

There are a thousand forms of subversion, but few can equal the convenience and immediacy of a cream pie. Noel Godin

Al Gore "invented the Internet" - resources [sethf.com]
http://sethf.com/gor e/ [sethf.com]

This includes links to:

CNN Transcript [cnn.com]
http://www. cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/03/09/ president.2000/transcript.gore/ [cnn.com]

Al Gore and The Internet [somewhere.com]
http://commons.somewhere. com/rre/2000/RRE.Al.Gore. and.the.Inte.html [somewhere.com]
Red Rock Eater News Service, Phil Agre, Mar. 28 2000

Al Gore's support of the Internet, by V.Cerf and B.Kahn [ I second this djf] [interesting-people.org]
http://www .interesting-people.org/archives/interes ting-people/200009/msg00052.html [interesting-people.org]

Did Gore invent the Internet? [salon.com]
http://dir.salon.com/t ech/col/rose/2000/10/05/gore _internet/index.html [salon.com]
Salon, Scott Rosenberg, Oct. 5, 2000

Al Gore and the Creation of the Internet [firstmonday.dk]
http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_1 0/wiggins / [firstmonday.dk]
First Monday, Richard Wiggins, October 2000

Seth Finkelstein [sethf.com]