Scott Fahlman

Scott Elliot Fahlman ( born March 21, 1948 in Medina, Ohio, USA) is an American professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and is considered the inventor of the emoticon.

On September 19, 1982 Fahlman suggested in a bulletin board ( electronic discussion forum ) before the Carnegie Mellon University to replicate the world famous Smiley Signet of ASCII characters, to better distinguish humorous and serious contributions from each can.

His original message was found in 2002 on an old backup tape again:

19 -Sep -82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman :-) From: Scott E Fahlman I did propose the Following character sequence for joke markers: :-) Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things did are NOT jokes, givenName current trends. For this, use :-( Fahlman made ​​his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1973 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1977 he also received his doctorate at MIT. Since 1978 he has been researching at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was appointed professor in 1984. From May 1996 to July 2000, he headed the Just System Pittsburgh Research Center.