“A Short History of eBooks” Timeline

Before I serendipitously landed myself in the fledging hi tech new media world of eBooks and digital publishing, back in 2000, I ironically was the proud owner of a newly minted BA degree in the erudite field of Classics with a specialty in Homeric and Attic Greek. As my other classmates perused textbooks that covered more so-called practical topics in business, communication arts and nursing, I was quite busy translating the likes of Euripides, Plato, Aristophanes, Sappho and Homer, in the attempt of getting my mind around dusty concepts such as quantitative metathesis, nasal-stem verbs and optative mood paradigms. To many, this type of study without doubt seems tedious, unpractical, irrelevant or just plain silly in today’s world. Not so, I would argue! As Winston Churchill once said, “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” Reading about history is one thing, being part of it is another altogether.

Below the Diesel eBook Team cobbled together a timeline of some important milestones in the very brief history of eBooks. Perhaps history does repeat itself, yes?

As always, please feel free to make comments for our consideration. We will add any significant dates you suggest – and that we missed – to the timeline. Thanks for your help.

(Note: If this timeline is not loading properly, then use this link: http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/63726)