Happy Anniversary: First email Sent with an Attachment Turns 20!

On 11 March, 2012 the first email attachment successfully sent through the Internet celebrates it's 20th anniversary - the first use of the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) protocol.

Dr Nathaniel Borenstein who was a researcher at Bellcore and now is chief scientist at Mimecast, co-created the email format MIME.

And in 1992 the first message containing a MIME - encoded attachment - the base of all email attachments, was sent, a huge development in the internet arena. It is estimated that now MIME standard is used like a trillion times a day.

"The idea behind MIME was quite simple – make it easy for users to embrace email and be successful. Today, twenty years later, it is that same intent and dedication that allows Mimecast to focus on the evolving needs of businesses to ensure they are successful when tackling today's email challenges. I'm thrilled to celebrate the anniversary of this innovation and look forward to its continued evolution," Nathaniel Borenstein, Chief Scientist at Mimecast, said in the press release.

The first MIME message circulated had a JPEG image and an audio clip of My Barbershop chorus, Bellcore's Telephone Chords, singing "Let Me Send You Email."