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Networking & Internet

NCSA Mosaic

A web browser released in 1993 that was the first to show images inline with text and helped popularize the Web.

Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina built Mosaic at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Work began in December 1992, and the first release came in January 1993. Version 1.0 followed in April 1993.

It was not the first browser. WorldWideWeb, Erwise and ViolaWWW came first. But Mosaic was the first browser to display images inline with text instead of in a separate window.

Why it matters

Mosaic was instrumental in popularizing the World Wide Web and the Internet during the 1990s.

Key facts

  • Developed at NCSA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Built by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina.
  • Version 1.0 released April 1993.
  • First browser to show images inline with text.
  • Preceded by WorldWideWeb, Erwise and ViolaWWW.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, "Mosaic (web browser)", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser), accessed October 14, 2026.
  2. Wikipedia, "Marc Andreessen", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen, background reading, accessed October 14, 2026.