In this February 17, 2011 lecture to the Cornell Association of Professors Emeriti at Cornell University, Kenneth M. King traces the evolution of the Internet from its roots in higher education. This is a personal account of the political steps (rather than the hardware or software aspects) in the creation and evolution of a major technological development of our time.

King was involved with computing at universities from 1953 to 1998 and served as president of EDUCOM (1987–1992). In this talk he describes the primary and under-celebrated role that universities played in the creation and evolution of networking and the Internet, specifically highlighting the role Cornell people played.