The Project Gutenberg EBook of Project Gutenberg 4 July 1971 - 4 July 2011: Album, by Marie Lebert

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

** This is a COPYRIGHTED Project Gutenberg eBook, Details Below ** ** Please follow the copyright guidelines in this file. **

Title: Project Gutenberg 4 July 1971 - 4 July 2011: Album

Author: Marie Lebert

Release Date: July 4, 2011 [EBook #36616]

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PROJECT GUTENBERG 4 JULY 1971-4 JULY 2011 ***

Produced by Al Haines

?Project Gutenberg 4 July 1971 - 4 July 2011: Album

4 July 1971 - 4 July 2011 > An album to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Project Gutenberg

This album is dedicated to all Project Gutenberg and Distributed
Proofreaders volunteers worldwide.

The first ebook was available on 4 July 1971, as eText #1 of Project Gutenberg, a visionary project launched by Michael Hart to create free electronic versions of literary works and disseminate them worldwide. In the 16th century, Gutenberg allowed anyone to have print books for a small cost. In the 21st century, Project Gutenberg would allow anyone to have a digital library at no cost. Project Gutenberg got its first boost with the invention of the web in 1990, and its second boost with the creation of Distributed Proofreaders in 2000.

4 July 1971 > eText #1 > The United States Declaration of Independence

On 4 July 1971, Michael Hart keyed in The United States Declaration of Independence (signed on 4 July 1776) to the mainframe he was using, in upper case, because there was no lower case yet. The file was 5 K. Michael mentioned to the 100 users of the pre-internet of the time where the etext was stored—though without a hypertext link, because the web was still 20 years ahead. It was downloaded by six users.

4 July 1971 > As recalled by Michael Hart

As recalled by Michael Hart in January 2009: "On July 4, 1971, while still a freshman at the University of Illinois (UI), I decided to spend the night at the Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the UI Materials Research Lab, rather than walk miles home in the summer heat, only to come back hours later to start another day of school. I stopped on the way to do a little grocery shopping to get through the night, and day, and along with the groceries they put in the faux parchment copy of The U.S. Declaration of Independence that became quite literally the cornerstone of Project Gutenberg. That night, as it turned out, I received my first computer account—I had been hitchhiking on my brother's best friend's name, who ran the computer on the night shift. When I got a first look at the huge amount of computer money I was given, I decided I had to do something extremely worthwhile to do justice to what I had been given. (…) As I emptied out groceries, the faux parchment Declaration of Independence fell out, and the light literally went on over my head like in the cartoons and comics… I knew what the future of computing, and the internet, was going to be… 'The Information Age.' The rest, as they say, is history." (NEF Interview)

July 1971 > Project Gutenberg's mission

Michael decided to use the huge amount of computer time he had been given to search the literary works that were stored in libraries, and to digitize these works. A book would become a continuous text file instead of a set of pages. Project Gutenberg's mission would be to put at everyone's disposal, in electronic versions, as many literary works as possible for free.

1972 > The United States Bill of Rights

After keying in The United States Declaration of Independence in 1971, Michael typed in a longer text, The United States Bill of Rights, in 1972, i.e. the first ten amendments added in 1789 to the Constitution (dated 1787) and defining the individual rights of the citizens and the distinct powers of the Federal Government and the States.

1973 > The United States Constitution

A volunteer typed in The United States Constitution in 1973.

1974-1988 > The Bible

From one year to the next, disk space was getting larger, by the standards of the time—there was no hard disk yet—, making it possible to store larger files. Volunteers began typing in The Bible, with one individual book at a time, and a file for each book.

1974-1988 > The Collected Works of William Shakespeare

Michael typed in The Collected Works of William Shakespeare, with the help of some volunteers, one play at a time, and a file for each play. This edition of Shakespeare was never released, unfortunately, due to changes in copyright law. Shakespeare's works belong to public domain, but comments and notes may be copyrighted, depending on the publication date. Other editions of Shakespeare from public domain were released a few years later.

August 1989 > eBook #10 > The King James Bible

Its critics long considered Project Gutenberg as impossible on a large scale. But Michael went on keying book after book during many years, with the help of some volunteers. In August 1989, Project Gutenberg completed its 10th ebook, The King James Bible (1769), both testaments, and 5 M for all files.

1990 > The invention of the web

In 1990, there were 250,000 internet users. The standard was 360 K disks. with Tim Berners-Lee dealing with HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and hyperlinks at CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland.

January 1991 > Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

In January 1991, Michael typed in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), by Lewis Carroll.

July 1991 > Peter Pan

In July 1991, Michael typed in Peter Pan (1904), by James M. Barrie.
These two classics of childhood literature each fit on one disk.

November 1993 > Mosaic, the first public browser

The first public browser, Mosaic, was released in November 1993. It became easier to circulate etexts and recruit volunteers. From 1991 to 1996, the number of ebooks doubled every year, with one ebook per month in 1991, two ebooks per month in 1992, four ebooks per month in 1993, and eight ebooks per month in 1994.

January 1994 > eBook #100 > The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

In January 1994, Project Gutenberg released The Complete Works of William Shakespeare as eBook #100. Shakespeare wrote most works between 1590 and 1613. The steady growth went on, with an average of eight ebooks per month in 1994, 16 ebooks per month in 1995, and 32 ebooks per month in 1996.

June 1997 > The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

In June 1997, Project Gutenberg released The Merry Adventures of Robin
Hood (1883), by Howard Pyle.

August 1997 > eBook #1000 > La Divina Commedia, by Dante

Project Gutenberg reached 1,000 ebooks in August 1997. eBook #1000 was La Divina Commedia (1321), by Dante Alighieri, in Italian, its original language.

1997 > Three main sections

With the number of ebooks on the rise, three main sections were set up: