Basic HTML: A Little History

Vannevar Bush article, "As We May Think" (1945), -- first documented concept of a machine-supported system that would allow storage and interlinking of information through free association.

Ted Nelson coins term "hypertext", "Literary Machines" (1965), -- in which he described something called "non-sequential writing".

First Hypertext Editing System, Brown University (1967).

Xanadu Project (1981) -- whose stated mission was to create a "...unifying system of order for all information...all data may be connected sideways and out of sequence to other data".

Lotus Notes, Windows Help Files, etc..

WWW (World Wide Web) -- Tim Berners Lee