Amazon started in 1995 as a simple text page claiming to be the “largest bookstore on Earth.” The first book sold was “Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies” to computer engineer John Wainwright for $27.95, earning him a place in tech history and a building named after him on Amazon’s Seattle campus.
When Amazon opened its IT doors in July 1995, the site was just a page of text separated by titles and topped with the company’s first logo: a capital letter A, with what must have been a river running through it. Even then, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos claimed it was “the largest bookstore on Earth,” and now it definitely is, and much more. The first book sold on Amazon was ordered by computer engineer John Wainwright in April 1995. Using a beta version of the site, he purchased Douglas Hofstadter’s Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought, a book on ‘artificial intelligence .
When the Amazon idea clicked:
Wainwright even kept the book’s sales receipt, which reads, “Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com!”
Bezos originally wanted to name his company Cadabra, as in “abracadabra,” but when his lawyer thought he’d said “Cadaver,” Bezos decided to go with an alternative.
The first sale was important for Bezos. There is now a building on Amazon’s sprawling Seattle campus named after Wainwright, who spent just $27.95 USD to earn himself a place in tech history.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
