History of HTML

1969: First predecessor - IBM Generalized Markup Language (GML)

In the late sixties, Charles Goldfarb, Edward Mosher, and Raymond Lorie started developing it at IBM and named it after their surnames - GML¹. Goldfarb later recalled that he gave GML its full name -- Generalized Markup Language -- in 1971, when product development was imminent, specifically so the developers' initials would "always prove where it had originated."

GML was a set of macros on top of IBM's SCRIPT text formatter, part of the Document Composition Facility (DCF). The key idea was intent-based markup: instead of telling the machine how to format something, you told it what it was -- a heading, a paragraph, a list item -- and the system applied formatting rules on its own¹.

:h1.Does this look somehow familiar?
:p.it not only has paragraphs
:ol.
:li.But also stuff you maybe wouldn't expect - lists - this is the first item of an ordered list
:li.And this is the second item
:eol.
:p.It can't track you yet through the canvas fingerprinting, though

1978: Start of a project which later became the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)

In 1978, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) established the Computer Languages for the Processing of Text committee. Charles Goldfarb was asked to join and eventually lead a project for a text description language standard based on GML¹. Norman Scharpf, then head of the Graphic Communications Association (GCA), and Charles Card were among the key members.

As the name suggests, SGML evolved from GML. But the standardization effort was massive -- Goldfarb described it as "an extraordinary 8-year effort involving hundreds of people from all over the world"¹.

1980: First working draft of SGML

In 1980, Goldfarb and his team published the first working draft of SGML¹. The draft circulated through ANSI and ISO committees for review, kicking off six more years of revision before the standard was finalized.

1986: SGML became an ISO standard

On October 15, 1986, after adoption by the Office of Official Publications of the European Community, the final version was published as ISO 8879:1986 -- "Information processing -- Text and office systems -- Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)"². Goldfarb served as the project editor for both the ANSI and ISO groups throughout the process³.

SGML became the foundation for a whole family of markup languages. HTML, XML, DocBook -- they all trace back to this spec.

1989: Tim Berners-Lee invents HTML, along with the web

This NeXT machine was used by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990 to run the first web server. Credit: CERN

In March 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist at Swiss-based CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), submitted a proposal titled "Information Management: A Proposal" for what would later become the web⁴. His boss, Mike Sendall, seemed to like it somehow, wrote a "Vague but exciting" note on the doc, and let him continue.

By May 1990, Berners-Lee wrote a second, more detailed proposal. In November 1990, he and Belgian engineer Robert Cailliau formalized the management concept⁴. By the end of that year, Tim had the first web server and browser running on a NeXT computer at CERN. The web-server software he wrote in C was called CERN httpd, later co-developed with Ari Luotonen and Henrik Frystyk Nielsen⁵.

Using the technology, they created the first website, published on December 20, 1990⁴. You can still browse it on the original address (restored in 2013).

The HTML was originally conceived to meet the need for sharing information between universities and institutions around the world. In August 1991, Berners-Lee announced the WWW software on Internet newsgroups, and the project began spreading globally⁴. On April 30, 1993, CERN released the WorldWideWeb source code on a royalty-free basis -- a decision that made the open web possible⁴.

HTML evolved from SGML; it was formally an SGML application until HTML5.

1992: HTML Tags

Near the end of 1991, CERN published an HTML Tags document.

This is not really a spec, rather just a list of 18 HTML tags. No DTD, no formal grammar -- just a description of what each tag does and how browsers should render it.

<TITLE>HTML Tags</TITLE>
<H1>this is finally somehow real HTML</H1>
<P>
    Now you can utilize a <A NAME=0 HREF=https://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/MarkUp/Tags.html>hyperlink</A>.
<P>

1993: Draft of HTML 1.1

In June 1993, the IIIR Working Group (Tim Berners-Lee and Daniel Connolly) published a draft v1.1 of HTML (so perhaps we may call it HTML 1.1). This was the first attempt at a proper specification with a formal DTD⁶.

That same year, in March 1993, NCSA released the Mosaic browser, which brought images inline with text for the first time and made the web accessible to non-technical users⁴. By the end of 1993, there were over 500 known web servers, and the web accounted for about 1% of all internet traffic⁴.

<HTML>
<!-- Now it has most of what a propper HTML doc should have. -->
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Title is enclosed in HEAD</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<H1>Mosaic</H1>
<P>
            Was the browser mostly used to read such versions of HTML.
</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>

1993: Draft of HTML 1.2

Still in June 1993, the IIIR Working Group also published a draft of HTML 1.2, which expanded the tag set and refined the DTD⁷.

1995: HTML 2.0

On November 24, 1995, the Network Working Group published HTML 2.0 as RFC 1866, authored by Tim Berners-Lee and Daniel Connolly⁸.

HTML 2.0 is the first real HTML standard. It was given the 2.0 version number to distinguish it from the previous informal versions and drafts.

The 2.0 version itself still lacks many important HTML capabilities (file upload, tables, client-side image maps, and internationalization), which were added as supplemental RFCs: RFC 1867 for file upload⁹, RFC 1942 for tables, and RFC 2070 for internationalization.

1996: FutureSplash Animator (later Flash)

In May 1996, FutureWave Software -- a small company co-founded by Jonathan Gay -- released FutureSplash Animator, a vector animation tool with a browser plugin¹⁰. The product evolved from an earlier pen-computing drawing app called SmartSketch, which Gay had retooled for web animation after the pen tablet market collapsed.

When Microsoft adopted FutureSplash for MSN and Disney used it for their website, Macromedia took notice. In December 1996, Macromedia acquired FutureWave Software and promptly rebranded FutureSplash Animator as Macromedia Flash 1.0¹⁰. Adobe would later acquire Macromedia in 2005, turning it into Adobe Flash.

For the next 15 or so years, Flash would be everywhere -- games, video players, entire websites built in it. But its days were numbered from the moment HTML5 started gaining traction.

1997: HTML 3.2

On January 14, 1997, W3C published HTML 3.2 as a Recommendation, with Dave Raggett as editor¹¹. The spec was developed together with IBM, Microsoft, Netscape, Novell, SoftQuad, Spyglass, and Sun Microsystems¹¹.

There's a bit of a backstory here. Dave Raggett had proposed HTML 3.0, a much more ambitious spec, in 1995. But browser vendors couldn't agree on it, and it expired as a draft. HTML 3.2 was the pragmatic compromise -- codifying what browsers already supported rather than pushing forward.

In the golden era of Netscape Navigator & Communicator, HTML found its way to masses and was used to run services such as AltaVista, Yahoo, or Amazon.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Not really clear code yet</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
        Although there was already CSS, Netscape 3, the most popular browser those days, didn"t support it.
        When you wanted to somehow <FONT color="#ff0000" face="Arial">format a text, you had to use the FONT tag</FONT>.
</BODY>
</HTML>

1997: HTML 4.0

On December 18, 1997, W3C published HTML 4.0 as a Recommendation¹².

This was a big release. HTML 4.0 introduced three flavors -- Strict, Transitional, and Frameset -- and finally separated presentation from structure by pushing CSS as the way to handle styling. It also added support for scripting, frames, embedded objects, improved tables, and better internationalization¹².

IE4 was about to take over Netscape. The DOM along with JavaScript opened a path to client-side functionality -- at first, we could see pop-up menus and expandable tree navigation. The browser wars were in full swing.

1998: XHTML Draft

On December 5, 1998, W3C published a Working Draft of XHTML¹³.

The motivation behind was to create a strict standard, an XML-based reformulation of HTML. A doc which can be validated, parsed, extended with namespaces, and generally used like any other XML document.

The thinking at the time was that XML was the future of everything, and HTML should join the party. This would turn out to be... debatable.

1999: HTML 4.01

On December 24, 1999, W3C published HTML 4.01 as a Recommendation¹⁴.

Just a few minor corrections of HTML 4.0. But this version would remain the last numbered W3C HTML Recommendation for 15 years -- until HTML5 arrived in 2014.

2000: XHTML 1.0

On January 26, 2000, W3C published XHTML 1.0 as a Recommendation¹⁵.

The language is based on HTML 4.01; on first sight, you wouldn't even notice it's something else.

Notable differences include, though:

• XHTML is case sensitive, while HTML isn't
• XHTML must have all tags closed, e.g., you have to use <br/>, while in HTML <br> is OK.
• In XHTML, all the attributes must have quote-enclosed values, you have to use <input type="radiobutton" selected="selected">, while in HTML, <input type="radiobutton" selected> is OK.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
<title>XHTML</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Is this XML? Or HTML?</h1>
<p>
            It is an XHTML,
<br/>
            a valid XML
</p>
</body>
</html>

2000: ISO HTML (ISO/IEC 15445:2000)

In May 2000, ISO HTML, based on HTML 4.01 Strict, was published as ISO/IEC 15445:2000¹⁶.

HTML was internationally standardized for the first time. And it turned out to be the last time, too -- no subsequent HTML version has gone through ISO.

2001: XHTML 1.1

On May 31, 2001, W3C published XHTML 1.1 as a Recommendation¹⁷.

It introduced XHTML Modularization -- a way to extend a doc with modules based on DTDs, XML Schema, and RELAX NG. The idea was that different device types (phones, TVs, printers) could each use a subset of XHTML modules appropriate for their capabilities.

At this point, the W3C was fully committed to the XML path. HTML 4.01 hadn't been updated since 1999, and the plan was to push everyone toward XHTML. Next up was XHTML 2.0, which would break backward compatibility entirely. That plan... didn't go over well.

2004: WHATWG is founded

On June 1-2, 2004, the W3C held a Workshop on Web Applications and Compound Documents. The Mozilla Foundation and Opera Software submitted a joint position paper calling for W3C to evolve HTML -- extend it with new features for web applications while maintaining backward compatibility¹⁸.

At the end of the second day, a poll was held. Of the 51 attendees, 8 voted in favor of the proposal and 11 voted against¹⁹. The W3C was going to stick with XHTML 2.0.

Two days later, on June 4, 2004, the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) was publicly announced²⁰. Apple, Mozilla, and Opera decided that if the W3C wouldn't evolve HTML, they'd do it themselves. The WHATWG began working on two specifications: Web Forms 2.0 (extending HTML forms) and Web Applications 1.0 (which would eventually become HTML5).

This split between W3C and WHATWG would define HTML's development for the next 15 years.

2008: First Public Draft of HTML5 & XHTML5

On January 22, 2008, W3C published the First Public Draft of HTML5 & XHTML5²¹.

The backstory: in April 2007, the W3C had finally acknowledged reality. The Mozilla Foundation, Apple, and Opera proposed that the new W3C HTML Working Group adopt the WHATWG's Web Applications 1.0 spec as its starting point²². The W3C agreed, and the two groups began working on HTML5 in parallel -- though with different goals and processes, which would cause friction for years.

Meanwhile, the W3C quietly let the XHTML 2.0 Working Group's charter expire in 2009, effectively killing XHTML 2.0²³. The XML-only future had been abandoned. The web had voted with its feet.

2010: Apple will no longer support Flash

On April 29, 2010, Steve Jobs published an open letter titled "Thoughts on Flash"²⁴, explaining why Apple would not allow Flash on the iPhone and iPad. He cited reliability, security, battery life, touch support, and the availability of open standards -- meaning HTML5.

The letter was blunt, even by Jobs' standards. And it had impact. With iOS devices selling millions of units, web developers couldn't ignore a platform that flat-out refused to run Flash. HTML5 video and Canvas started getting serious attention as alternatives.

2011: WHATWG drops version numbers -- HTML becomes a Living Standard

In January 2011, the WHATWG renamed its "HTML5" specification to simply "HTML," and adopted the Living Standard model²⁵. The idea: instead of freezing the spec into numbered versions (HTML5, HTML6, etc.), the specification would be continuously updated as new features were added and bugs were fixed.

The W3C disagreed. They wanted a finished, testable "HTML5" snapshot they could stamp as a Recommendation. So for the next several years, the W3C and WHATWG maintained separate -- and increasingly divergent -- versions of the HTML spec.

2012: Candidate Recommendation of HTML5 & XHTML5

On December 17, 2012, W3C published a Candidate Recommendation of HTML5²⁶.

Now HTML5 makes headlines and everyone is switching to it.

2014: HTML5 & XHTML5

On October 28, 2014, W3C published HTML5 as a Recommendation²⁷.

Now HTML is an environment for running complex apps, rather than a simple markup language it used to be. It includes a huge pack of new features, like:

• multimedia support through <video>, <audio> tags
• graphics support through the <canvas> tag and SVG (inline or in the <svg> tag)
• structural elements such as <section>, <article>, <header>, <footer>
• new APIs like Web Storage, Web Messaging, WebRTC, Geolocation

Developers started to use those features instead of plugins like Adobe Flash or the less known Microsoft Silverlight, and it led to the gradual abandonment of plugin support by browser manufacturers.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<head>
<title>Is XHTML out of fashion, nowadays?</title>
</head>
<body>
        Although HTML5 spec includes XHTML as well, not so restricted markup &hellip;<br>seems to be back.
</body>
</html>

2016: HTML 5.1

On November 1, 2016, W3C published HTML 5.1 as a Recommendation²⁸.

As the version number suggests, there are few minor improvements:

• context menus
• <details> element
• <summary> element
• more input types like month, week, and datetime-local
• responsive images (without CSS) via <picture> and srcset

2016: Working Draft of HTML & XHTML 5.2

On August 18, 2016, W3C published the First Public Working Draft of HTML 5.2²⁹.

2017: HTML & XHTML 5.2

On December 14, 2017, W3C published HTML 5.2 as a Recommendation³⁰.

New features include:

• The <dialog> element
• Payment Request API -- to allow merchants to use one or more payment methods with minimal integration
• Integration with the JavaScript module system (ECMA-262)

2017: Working Draft of HTML & XHTML 5.3

On the same day, December 14, 2017, W3C also published the First Public Working Draft of HTML 5.3³¹.

HTML 5.3 never made it past the working draft stage. It would be formally retired in January 2021 along with HTML 5.1 and 5.2, in favor of the Living Standard³².

2017: Adobe announces Flash end-of-life

On July 25, 2017, Adobe published a blog post titled "Flash & the Future of Interactive Content," announcing that Flash Player would reach end of life on December 31, 2020³³. The announcement was coordinated with Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla -- basically everyone who mattered in the browser space.

By 2017, open standards like HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly had matured enough to replace most Flash use cases. The writing had been on the wall for years, but Adobe making it official was the final nail.

2019: W3C and WHATWG end the standards war

On May 28, 2019, the W3C and WHATWG signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on a single version of HTML and DOM³⁴³⁵.

The 15-year split was over. Under the agreement, HTML and DOM would be "developed principally in the WHATWG," following the Living Standard process. W3C's role shifted to endorsing periodic WHATWG Review Draft snapshots as W3C Recommendations³⁴.

This was, frankly, W3C conceding that WHATWG had won the HTML standards battle. The WHATWG spec was what browsers actually implemented, and maintaining two competing specs was causing more confusion than it solved.

2020: Flash is dead

On December 31, 2020, Adobe Flash Player officially reached end of life³³. Adobe stopped distributing Flash Player, removed download links from their website, and starting January 12, 2021, Flash Player began blocking Flash content from running entirely³⁶.

All major browsers had already removed or disabled Flash support by this point. A technology that had once powered the most interactive parts of the web -- from YouTube's original video player to countless browser games -- was gone for good.

The Ruffle project (an open-source Flash emulator written in Rust) and the Internet Archive's preservation efforts keep some Flash content accessible, but the plugin era was definitively over. HTML had won.

2021: W3C endorses WHATWG HTML as a Recommendation

On January 28, 2021, W3C endorsed the first WHATWG HTML Review Draft snapshot as a W3C Recommendation³⁷. On the same day, W3C formally retired HTML 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 in favor of the Living Standard³².

The DOM Living Standard had already been endorsed as a W3C Recommendation in November 2020. This completed the transition: there's now one HTML spec, maintained by WHATWG, periodically rubber-stamped by W3C.

2022-2025: HTML keeps evolving

With the Living Standard model, HTML doesn't get dramatic version bumps anymore. Instead, new features land when they're ready and get adopted by browsers gradually. Some notable additions from recent years:

• <dialog> element -- fully cross-browser since March 2022, after Safari and Firefox shipped consistent modal behavior with ::backdrop support³⁸
• <search> element -- reached Baseline in October 2023, giving search forms proper semantic meaning³⁹
• Popover API (popover attribute) -- reached Baseline in January 2025; provides built-in popover/tooltip behavior without JavaScript, including light dismiss and top-layer rendering⁴⁰
• Exclusive accordions -- multiple <details> elements with a shared name attribute, so only one can be open at a time (2024)
• Stylable <select> -- Chrome 134 (2025) allows full CSS customization of the <select> element's internal structure, something developers had wanted for literally decades⁴¹

The pace of HTML evolution is probably the fastest it's been since the HTML5 era. The difference is that nobody markets it as "HTML6" -- it's all just the Living Standard, getting updates every day.

Updated: March 1, 2026