In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the sputnik, a beach ball sized sattelite that would allow the Soviet Union to initialize global communications. The satellite didn't stay in orbit very long but it motivated the U.S. to develope its communications to ensure that the Soviets didn't have the upper hand. For more information, look here.
In 1958, Bell Labs invented a modem that could transmit data over regular unconditioned telephone lines at a speed of 110 bits per second. The modem was replaced in a couple years by a successor but it was the first of its kind and important in developing faster communications. For more information, look here
In 1958, the U.S. creates ARPA, the Advanced Research Project Agency, as a response to the Sputnik launch. The U.S. didn't want to fall behind in their communication developement and ARPA was a way to ensure that they could compete with the Soviets. For more information, look here
In 1966, the ARPAnet project was started to establish communication accross the U.S.. The network was the first version of the internet and served a similar purpose, but was much less complex. For more information, look here
In 1967: Danny Cohen created the first flight simulator. The graphics and controls were primitive, but being able to control an object on a screen using a joystick was a huge developement at the time. For more information, look here
In 1972, Ray Tomlinson invented email. He invented the system so that he could communicate with distant colleagues that didn't answer their phones. The earlier email was primitive compared to the modern system but was still essential. For more information, look here
In 1981, Danny Cohen was able to run his flight simulator over ARPAnet. This was an early application of packet switching networks to real-time applications. For more information, look here
In August 1991, the World Wide Web opened to the public. This achievement allowed for quick and easy communication between people accross the world and it was the internet that we know of today. For more information, look here
In 2003, Apple released a simple music playing application called iTunes. It was origianlly on mac but it was later adapted to all of Apple's expanding list of technologies. For more information, look here
In 2005, YouTube started as a video hosting service created by three former PayPal employees. The website has had a huge impact on the internet and is one of the most popular and influential websites in existance. For more information, look here