Paul Baran
RAND engineer who devised packet switching for networks that survive attack
- Lived
- 84 yrs
- 1926 – 2011
- Works listed
- 1
- Report series
- Honours
- 3
- Most recent 2007
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Paul Baran was a Polish-born American engineer who, at the RAND Corporation in the early 1960s, proposed distributed communication networks that break messages into blocks and route them independently — the idea of packet switching that underlies the internet.
Biography
Background
Baran was born in Grodno and moved to the United States as a child. He studied electrical engineering at Drexel and UCLA and worked on early computers including UNIVAC.
Surviving networks
At RAND from 1959, worried that a nuclear attack could cut US communications, Baran designed a mesh network with many routes. Messages would be split into “message blocks” and sent independently, then reassembled. He published the 11-volume On Distributed Communications in 1964.
Entrepreneur
Baran later founded companies in fields such as wireless data and cable modems. He received the National Medal of Technology in 2007 and died in 2011.
Influence
AT&T rejected the idea, but it influenced the ARPANET designers once Larry Roberts learned of it. Donald Davies in Britain independently invented the same idea and named it “packet switching”.
Timeline
-
1926
Born in Grodno, Poland (now Hrodna, Belarus)
-
1959
Joins RAND
-
1960
Begins work on survivable networks
-
1964
On Distributed Communications
-
1968
Leaves RAND
-
1991
Marconi Prize
-
2007
National Medal of Technology; National Inventors Hall of Fame
-
2011
Dies
-
2011
Died, aged 84
Notable works
-
1964
On Distributed Communications Report series
Awards and honours
-
IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal
1990
-
Marconi Prize
1991
-
National Medal of Technology
2007
Did you know?
-
1
AT&T engineers told him his idea would not work.
-
2
He co-founded the Institute for the Future.
-
3
His work was classified only in part; most was published openly.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Paul Baran?
Paul Baran was a Polish-born American engineer who, at the RAND Corporation in the early 1960s, proposed distributed communication networks that break messages into blocks and route them independently — the idea of packet switching that underlies the internet.
When did Paul Baran die?
Paul Baran died on 26 March 2011 at the age of 84.
Where is Paul Baran from?
Paul Baran was born in Grodno, Poland (now Hrodna, Belarus).
What is Paul Baran known for?
Paul Baran is best known for Distributed networks and packet switching (1960–64); On Distributed Communications.
What awards has Paul Baran received?
Notable honours include IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal (1990), Marconi Prize (1991), National Medal of Technology (2007).
References
- Paul Baran — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Paul Baran — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Paul Baran (Q92617) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Paul Baran”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Paul Baran.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/paul-baran
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