U.S. Department of Defense - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -

The Soviet Union had launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1. Created with a national sense of urgency in February 1958, U.S. leadership created DARPA, initially with the shorter name (at first without the D for “Defense”) Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). The ARPANET was the network that became the basis for the Internet.

Reference Desk:

Interface Message Processor IMP Development Team, Internet History http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_imp.htm

DARPA - Official Site http://www.darpa.mil/

ARPANET and the Origins of the Internet http://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/arpanet

Why the Arpanet Was Built by S.J. Lukasik http://www.researchgate.net/publication/224124916_Why_the_Arpanet_Was_Built

RAND is the first organization to be called a “think tank.” http://www.rand.org/about/

Geek History pages:

When was internet invented and who invented the internet

Why was the internet created: 1957 Sputnik launches ARPA

When was internet invented: J.C.R. Licklider guides 1960s ARPA Vision