This year, email celebrates its 44th anniversary. Since its creation in 1971, email has gone from being a niche method of communication to something that most Americans use on a daily basis. In honor of email’s 44th year, let’s look back at what the first 44 years have included.

Email made its official debut in 1971, when computer engineer Ray Tomlinson sent the first electronic mail message, and it was first used by a head of state in 1976 when Queen Elizabeth II sent her first electronic mail message. Two years later, the first electronically delivered advertisement was sent, over a network of government and university computers.…