April 21, 1995
Apache HTTP Server first public release
The Apache Group announced Apache 0.6.2 on April 21, 1995 — a patched fork of NCSA httpd that became the dominant web server.
What it was for
Apache serves static files, CGI scripts, and later PHP, PerlPractical Extraction and Report Language — a scripting language that dominated early web CGI and sysadmin., and proxy traffic for most of the early web. HotWired, MITMassachusetts Institute of Technology — a research university central to many computing breakthroughs. AI Lab, and thousands of ISPs ran it instead of unmaintained NCSA httpd. It later powered the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) and spawned the Apache Software Foundation.
People
- Brian Behlendorf — maintainer
Companies
- Apache Software Foundation
Why it's here
Apache became the most widely deployed web server and proved open-source could run the public internet.
Why it mattered
It set the pattern for community-maintained infrastructure replacing abandoned university code.
What it solved
NCSA httpd stagnated after its author left; sites needed security fixes and features without a vendor.
Media
- ImageApache HTTP Server
The Apache Software Foundation, Apache License 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- nginx first public releaseOctober 4, 2004
- lighttpd first releasedMarch 2003
- CGI specifiedNovember 14, 1993
- Apache Tomcat releasedJune 1999
- Phusion Passenger releasedApril 11, 2008