Piet Beertema
Encyclopedia
Piet Beertema is a Dutch Internet pioneer. On November 17, 1988 at 14:28 hours, he linked the Netherlands
as the second country (after the United States) to NSFnet
, a precursor to the Internet. Beertema was then working as an administrator at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam.
His first job was in 1965 at the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory
, where he first came into contact with a computer (an Elliott 803
-B). In 1966 he joined the Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, where he worked until his retirement.
On April 25, 1986 Beertema recorded the first country code top level domain .nl. In 1996 he co-founded the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration Netherlands that would take over the management of the .nl domain, after doing this himself for almost 10 years.
On June 9, 1999 he received a royal decoration, Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion. On September 16, 2004 he officially retired.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as the second country (after the United States) to NSFnet
NSFNet
The National Science Foundation Network was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation beginning in 1985 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States...
, a precursor to the Internet. Beertema was then working as an administrator at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam.
His first job was in 1965 at the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory
National Aerospace Laboratory
The Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaartlaboratorium is the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands and is one of the Major Technological Institutes of the country. These institutes perform a large part of the applied research in the Netherlands, each within its own specific field of technology...
, where he first came into contact with a computer (an Elliott 803
Elliott 803
The Elliott 803 was a small, medium speed digital computer manufactured by the British company Elliott Brothers in the 1960s. About 250 were built and most British universities and colleges bought one.-History:...
-B). In 1966 he joined the Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, where he worked until his retirement.
On April 25, 1986 Beertema recorded the first country code top level domain .nl. In 1996 he co-founded the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration Netherlands that would take over the management of the .nl domain, after doing this himself for almost 10 years.
On June 9, 1999 he received a royal decoration, Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion. On September 16, 2004 he officially retired.