This article presents a timeline of hypertext technology, including " hypermedia" and related human–computer interaction projects and developments from 1945 on. The term hypertext is credited to the author and philosopher Ted Nelson.

See also Graphical user interface, Multimedia; also Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine's Mundaneum, a massively cross-referenced card index system established in 1910.

1940s

• 1941
  • Jorge Luis Borges' " The Garden of Forking Paths"
• 1945
  • Memex (concept by Vannevar Bush)

1960s

• 1960
  • Project Xanadu (concept)
• 1962
  • Marshall McLuhan's The Gutenberg Galaxy uses the term surfing
• 1967
  • Hypertext Editing System (HES) by Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson at Brown University
• 1968
  • FRESS (File Retrieval and Editing System, successor to HES)
  • NLS (oN-Line System)

1970s

• 1972
  • ZOG
• 1973
  • Xerox Alto desktop
• 1976
  • PROMIS
• 1978
  • Aspen Movie Map
• 1979
  • PERQ

1980s

• 1980
  • ENQUIRE (not released)
• 1981
  • Electronic Document System (EDS, aka Document Presentation System)
  • Kussmaul Encyclopedia
  • Xerox Star desktop
• 1982
  • Guide
• 1983
  • Knowledge Management System (KMS, successor to ZOG)
  • TIES (The Interactive Encyclopedia System, later HyperTies)
• 1984
  • NoteCards
• 1985
  • Intermedia (successor to FRESS and EDS)
  • Symbolics Document Examiner (Symbolics workstations)
• 1986
  • Texinfo
  • TextNet (a network-based approach to text handling)
  • Neptune (a hypertext system for CAD applications)
• 1987
  • Macromedia Authorware
  • Canon Cat ("Leap" function, interface)
  • HyperCard
  • Knowledge Navigator (concept described by former Apple Computer CEO John Sculley in his book Odyssey)
  • Storyspace
• 1988
  • Microcosm (hypermedia system) ( University of Southampton)
• 1989
  • Macromedia Director
  • Information Management: a proposal, Tim Berners-Lee, CERN

1990s

• 1990
  • DynaText
  • World Wide Web
  • Hyperland (BBC documentary written by Douglas Adams)
  • ToolBook
  • HyTelnet
  • WinHelp
• 1991
  • Gopher
  • AmigaGuide
• 1995
  • Wiki
• 1996
  • Hyperwire (Kinetix)
• 1998
  • Everything2
  • XML
• 1999
  • RSS

2000s

• 2001
  • Wikipedia
• 2014
  • OpenXanadu, an implementation of Project Xanadu
• 2019
  • Gemini, a lightweight complement to the Web