ITEMInformation Transmission Evolution MapA visual history of human information
Person

Jon Postel

Jon Postel was a computer scientist and long-serving editor of the Internet's Request for Comments series who helped coordinate protocol specifications, numbers and names.

Period
1982, 1987, 1981
Known for
RFC stewardship and Internet protocol coordination
Historical contribution

What Postel contributed

He authored or edited major Internet documents, including specifications for email and protocol transition, and performed key administrative work that kept independently built systems interoperable.

Why it mattered

Postel's stewardship helped turn experimental networking conventions into a durable, documented Internet infrastructure.

Connected topics

Where this fits in ITEM

EmailPacket switchingComputer networks and ARPANETInternet and TCP/IP
Evidence

Sources and further reading

  1. RFC 1009: Requirements for Internet Gateways

    Robert Braden, Jon Postel · 1987

    Open source ↗

  2. RFC 760: DoD Standard Internet Protocol, January 1980

    Jon Postel · 1980

    Open source ↗

  3. RFC 771: Mail Transition Plan, September 1980

    Jon Postel · 1980

    Open source ↗

  4. RFC 791: Internet Protocol, September 1981

    Jon Postel · 1981

    Open source ↗

  5. RFC 793: Transmission Control Protocol, September 1981

    Jon Postel · 1981

    Open source ↗

  6. RFC 801: NCP/TCP Transition Plan, November 1981

    Jon Postel · 1981

    Open source ↗

  7. RFC 820: Assigned Numbers, January 1983

    Jon Postel · 1983

    Open source ↗

  8. RFC 821: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, August 1982

    Jon Postel · 1982

    Open source ↗