Google Celebrates 28 Years, Recalls Its Origin as BackRub

Google marked its 28th anniversary on September 27, 2026, a date that once again drew attention by appearing in the homepage Doodle. The reason for the search is the remembrance of this milestone and curiosity about the origin of the name and the commemorative date.

Project Origin at Stanford

In 1995, graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin began a research project at Stanford University focused on analyzing links between web pages. The goal was to understand which websites were most useful or relevant to users.

BackRub: The Initial Name

The search engine developed by Page and Brin was named BackRub, a direct reference to links pointing back to a page. This name described the project's central idea, although it wasn't suitable for a search logo.

Transition to Google

The name Google was later adopted, inspired by the mathematical term “googol,” which represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. The choice reflected the founders' ambition to organize an immense amount of information on the internet.

First Investment and Incorporation

In August 1998, Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, sent a US$100,000 check to the yet-unincorporated company, issued in the name of Google Inc. The company was formally incorporated on September 4, 1998.

Why September 27?

Although the incorporation occurred on September 4, Google adopted September 27 as its annual celebration date, a tradition maintained for over a decade in its homepage Doodles.

Evolution into a Tech Conglomerate

After the success of the search engine, the company expanded its portfolio to include Gmail, Google Maps, Android, Chrome, and YouTube, consolidating itself as one of the largest tech businesses in the world.

With information from The Sunday Guardian, https://ascendants.in/.