The First Domain on the Internet Has Been Sold: Symbolics.com

On March 15, 1985, the Internet officially became active with the registration and use of the Symbolics.com domain name. Now, nearly 25 years later, there are over 180,000,000 registered domains in use. The Symbolics company continues to operate, but the domain asset has been sold to XF.com.

Cape Girardeau, MO (Gawkwire.com) Symbolics.com, widely known as the first and oldest domain name, has changed hands for the only time since its original registration in 1985. XF.com Investments, based in Missouri, has purchased the unique Internet address for use in their business.

"We are extremely excited to own the Symbolics.com domain name," said Aron Meystedt (29), CEO of XF.com Investments. "Since our core business is Internet investments, we really pursued the purchase of the original domain name, Symbolics.com. For us to own the first domain is very special to our company, and we feel blessed for having the ability to obtain this unique property."

The original Symbolics company pioneered computer development. Symbolics designed and manufactured a line of Lisp machines, single-user computers optimized to run the Lisp programming language. The Lisp Machine was the first commercially available "workstation" (although that word had not yet been coined). Symbolics also made significant advances in software technology, and offered one of the premier software development environments of the 1980s and 1990s.**

XF.com says they have plans for the domain name, and are creating something special for the 25th anniversary of this URL. "On March 15, 2010, Symbolics.com will celebrate its 25th year," Meystedt says. "This is a special milestone for all of us. The Internet has changed the face of business and entertainment, and to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the domain that started it all is very special."