Ray Tomlinson, Inventor of Modern Email, Passes Away

Quick, what's the very first email you ever had? I bet it ended in @aol.com or @netscape.com!

The guy that was responsible for the modern email, Ray Tomlinson, has passed away. Details about his death were not immediately available.

Email existed in a limited capacity before Tomlinson's invention in that electronic messages could be shared amongst multiple people within a limited framework. But then in 1971, Tomlinson concocted the first network person-to-person email.

He chose the "@" ("at") symbol to connect the username with the destination address and now it's simply a cultural icon.

Tomlinson was currently working for Raytheon Co. While he was a holder of numerous awards and accolades, his co-workers say he was humble and honest.

However, surprisingly, he wasn't a frequent checker of his email.