MUD Timeline

This is the obligatory MUD timeline, as told by FindMUD. If you think there is something relevant that should be added, feel free to Contact Us.

1937 - J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" published.
1947 - Vannevar Bush thinks up the Internet, hypertext, virtual spaces, and other related ideas.
1954-1955 - J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy published.
1960 - PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations) created at the University of Illinois.
1963 - BBN patents the modem.
1969 - ARPANet is created.
       John Goltz founds CompuServe.
       UNIX operating system is created.
1972 - Gregory Yob creates Hunt the Wumpus at the University of Massachusetts.
       Nolan Bushnell founds Atari.
1973 - First version of Dungeons and Dragons sold by Gary Gygax.
1974 - Original Dungeons and Dragons rule set published.
       The Empire multiplayer space game is first released.
1975 - DEC PDP-10 computer created.
       ADVENT adventure game released by Will Crowther.
       Apple Computer is founded.
1978 - Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw release first version of MUD on PDP-10.
       Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook released.
1979 - Zork first released.
       Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide released.
1984 - Islands of Kesmai launches at $12 per hour.
       Tradewars is written for BBSes.
1985 - GEnie launches at $6 per hour.
1986 - MUD2 launches in the UK.
1987 - AberMUD released.
1988 - Richard Skrenta writes Monster in VAX Pascal.
1989 - TinyMUD released by Jim Aspnes.
       DragonMud comes into being.
1990 - Genesis LPMud is created.
       AtlantisMUCK is created.
       First version of MOO released.
       TinyMUSH is created.
       LambdaMOO is created.
       FurryMUCK is created.
       TeenyMUD is created.
       DIKU MUD is released.
       BatMUD is created.
1991 - PernMUSH is created.
       Virtual Reality by Howard Rheingold is published.
1992 - First version of the Merc codebase is released.
1993 - The ROM codebase is released.
       CircleMUD 2.0 is released.
       Merc 2.1 is released.
       Silly is released.
1994 - CircleMUD 3.0 released.
       Envy 1.0 is released.
       MajorMUD is released for BBSes.
1995 - TeenyMUD 2.0 is released.
1996 - SMAUG is released.
       GodWars is released.
       Meridian 59 is launched.
1997 - Ultima Online is launched.
       Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet Murray is published.
       Lineage is launched.
1998 - Everquest goes beta.
       My Tiny Life by Julian Dibbell is published.
1999 - Everquest is launched.
       Asheron's Call is launched.
2001 - Phantasy Star Online launched.
       Dark Age of Camelot launched.
       Runescape launched.
2002 - Final Fantasy XI is launched.
       First decrease in number of active MUD listings on The MUD Connector. Listings would increase in a few months.
2003 - Eve Online is launched.
       Lineage II is launched.
2004 - Everquest II is launched.
       Word of Warcraft is launched.
2005 - Guild Wars is launched.
2006 - Revenues for MMORPGs pass the $1 billion mark.
2007 - Lord of the Rings Online is launched.
2008 - Warhamer Online: Age of Reckoning is launched.