Email inventor Tom Linson dies at 74

Ray Tomlinson, the American computer programmer who invented modern email, has died at the age of 74. Raytheon, the employer of the "father of email", confirmed his death on Sunday but did not disclose details. Before Tomlinson, email had limited capabilities and electronic messages could only be shared by multiple people within a limited framework. Before he invented online person-to-person email in 1971, there was no way to send electronic messages to specific people at specific addresses.

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Tomlinson developed what was then a worldwide email system and chose to use the "@" (AT) symbol to connect the user name and the destination address, a symbol that has now become a cultural icon.

Despite his numerous awards and other honors, colleagues say he is humble and, oddly, does not check his email very often.

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