When Was the First Email Sent and What Did It Say?

💡 The Answer

• The first email was sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971 between two computers sitting next to each other.
• The message was something like 'QWERTYUIOP' or a similar test string, as he later recalled.
• He chose the @ symbol to separate the user's name from the machine's name.
• Email quickly became the most popular application on the ARPANET network.