Marc Andreessen, innovator and visionary, was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa on July 9, 1971. As a child he was fascinated by technology and taught himself basic programing at the age of nine. This curiosity led him to the University of Illinois, where he majored in Computer Science. While at Illinois, the young entrepreneur became intrigued by the recent development of the World Wide Web and the sharing of information.
While an undergraduate, Andreessen and Eric Bina worked at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) to develop a user friendly search browser with graphics that would work on a variety of computers. Their end result was the Mosaic web browser, which they announced in January of 1993. After graduation, Andreessen partnered with James Clark to launch Netscape in 1995. In 1999, AOL purchased Netscape and Andreessen briefly served as chief technical officer at AOL. He would later go onto found Loud-Cloud, and then became CTO of Ning.
Netscape Navigator was the first true Internet browser and allowed the world to easily use the Internet. Ultimately, Microsoft bought a license for Mosaic from The University of Illinois and subsequently launched Microsoft Explorer.
– National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Historical Marker located at the south entrance.
– Grainger Engineering Library. Poster in the Engineering Hall of Fame on the second story.
University of Illinois Archives has several places to look for more information on Marc Andreessen:
– NCTE/Middle Level Section File (record series 15/72/4): contains minutes and agendas showcasing Mosaic at the NCTE annual convention (1997), box 1 (At ARC)
– NCSA Clippings File (record series 7/5/10): contains news clippings on Marc Andreessen (At ARC)
– Alumni and Faculty Biographical/Morgue File (record series 26/4/1) on Andreessen
– Stanley Ikenberry General Correspondence File (record series 2/14/1): contains correspondence on Mosaic in box 324
Marc Andreessen. (2015). In The Biography.com website. Retrieved February 08, 2015 from http://www.biography.com/people/marc-andreessen-9542208.
Marc Andreessen. (n.d.). In Wikipedia.Retrieved February 8, 2015 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen
Engineering at Illinois. (n.d.). Marc L. Andreessen. Retrieved February 8, 2015 from https://ws.engr.illinois.edu/blogs/viewphoto.aspx?id=8494. Image. (Updated Link here)